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The question is: "What is Reconciliation?"By: Richard P. Duffield
Naturally we should begin with the understood meaning of the word "reconciliation".
Webster's describes the word as follows: originates from the Latin word "reconciliare" which is specifically "re = back, and conciliare = meeting". The English definition is as follows: to re-establish friendship between, to settle or resolve as in a dispute, to make consistent or compatible
Core meaning is to re-establish friendship or fellowship!
A solid Christian definition of the same word would be the restoration of a relationship or covenant relationship, which has been broken by one or both parties in the past.

You might ask what does this word have to do with the Christian life. How does this word interact with or relate to what we call Christianity today. Let us begin with reconciliation as defined by the late Oswald Chambers, "the restoring of the relationship between the entire human race and God, putting it back to what God designed it to be. This is what Jesus Christ accomplished in redemption."
One of the most important concepts for the believer to understand and embrace is the reconciliation we have received with God through the death of His Son, Jesus, on the cross at Calvary's hill!
Why do we need reconciliation? Reconciliation for what?
FOR THE SIN THAT SEPERATES US FROM A HOLY GOD! (1 Pet. 1:16, Lev.11:44,45, 19:2, 20:7)
Again, quoting from Oswald Chambers, "Sin in its very essence is not "wrong doing" but instead "wrong being." Allow me to explain, it is deliberate and determined independence from God. It is the very nature of our flesh, which we inherited from Adam. Jesus Christ reconciled the human race, putting it back to where God designed it to be. And now anyone can experience that reconciliation, being brought into oneness with God, on the basis of what Jesus has done on the cross."

A gap as wide as eternity was filled in a way that can never be duplicated; God's only Son was sacrificed to RECONCILE a lost creation with a Perfect, Holy, but Loving God! (2 Corinthians 5:19 "that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.) Don't miss the second half of that verse, I'll return to it later!

Allow me to read a few words I wrote in a "sonnet" to our beloved Lord that might express what I'm trying to say in a more colorful way:

Glory transposed into the life of a mere Carpenter, Jesus
Immaculate Conception, the product of love for a lost creation
God reaching out, extending an all-powerful hand
A hand filled with mercy, grace, and life giving power

Never the two shall meet, has fate so declared?
This lost creation, so lost, so undeserved of such an act of love
God in all His glory, All Powerful and seated on High
Reached down from heaven and His Son sacrificed with a sigh

Reconciliation in a nutshell is that act of God, All Powerful and seated on high, through God in the form of a Carpenter, Jesus who sacrificed His sinless life to RECONCILE sinful mankind back to the Holy Father!
The Father, who's very nature (Holy & Righteous -- Isaiah 5:16 But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy by His righteousness, Psalm 11:7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness Psalm 99:5 Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool, He is Holy! ) could not allow friendship or fellowship with the sin which man's nature carried since Adam's fall in the garden. (Hab.1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Leviticus 16: 2 The LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. His holy nature cannot tolerate our sinful nature! Job 15: 15 "If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, 16 how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water!") Reconciliation had to be effected; God loved us enough to provide a way where there was no way. See these words of another "sonnet" I wrote to our Lord, I think it says it all:

Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Music to the ears of those who love You
Breath and life for all those who walk this earth
Creator of all that is, or was, or ever shall be
Mercy and grace are Your trademarks
Love everlasting for a creation fallen from grace

God incarnate, walking and talking among us
Spreading the love by which this earth was created
Making a way where there was no way
Giving Your life that others may live
Paying a price too high to even comprehend

When we run a Thompson's Reference Bible search for the word "reconciliation", we come up with 2 of the best examples of the actual translations of the word in scenarios both set in Genesis. One being, "Genesis 33:4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept." (The story of Jacob's wonderful reconciliation after deceiving his brother Esau and fleeing his home out of fear of him) and the other being, "Genesis 45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him." (This second time is the great reconciliation of Joseph with the brothers who'd despised him and sold him into slavery and whom he'd not seen in many years!) Again we can see a real life example of the same word in the New Testament, Luke15: 20 "So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." (This time the story of the "prodigal son's" wonderful reunion (reconciliation) and reinstatement into his father's family as told by Luke in his Gospel.) Please bear in mind that this story is true for everyone who returns to the Father through repentance and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice, we all are or have been prodigal sons and daughters! Every one of us, no one is exempt!
(Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,)

The actual word is used beginning back in 2 Chronicles 29:24, "And the priests killed them (sacrifices), and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel:" and again in Ezekiel 45:15 "And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord God."
Both of these examples are referring primarily to an act being made that would restore fellowship or to compensate for iniquity by one party of a covenant to the other. Of course we should realize that all such acts of sacrificial payment for debts of iniquity pointed to the coming Messiah, pointed to Christ's death on Calvary's cross and the atonement that would be made as a result. Make sure you understand this fact, there has never really been any purpose for such sacrifices except to point to the coming sacrifice that would reconcile God to man for all of eternity! The whole of the Old Testament's sacrifices were pictures of things to come, directions and roadmaps leading to the coming Christ! Having said that, bear in mind that each of us personally must choose to either accept Jesus' perfect sacrifice on our behalf or by not doing so reject it! It can't be done by our parents, our spouses, any priests or any affiliation we might have, we must choose to accept and receive the reconciliation Christ provided for us on the cross! As always, with God it is our CHOICE!
Having received this greatest of gifts from the Great Giver of gifts, (God the Father, James1: 17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights") through repentance and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf on Calvary's cross, let us study some scripture to enable us to fully embrace this awesome and eternal concept! (If you've not experienced such a great gift, if you've not been personally reconciled to your Father God through Jesus Christ, please interrupt me at this point!)

The Bible says about Jesus, "Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross." That profound declaration in itself could and should satisfy anyone's need for an understanding of who Jesus is and what He did on the cross (reconciled lost man to a Holy Creator) but allow me to add more scriptures Ephesians 3:13 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away (through sin and rejection of God's provision for it) have been brought near through the blood of Christ. (Reconciled) 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed (done deed) the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility."
Once again, the need for reconciliation explained and Jesus' role in it's being made manifest to mankind clearly demonstrated. And more, "Romans 5:10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Please note: "were reconciled," "having been reconciled," "received reconciliation." These are all past tense events, they've been done, they've been completed, and it is finished! )
There are many other scriptures I could make reference to, Hebrews 2:14 ­ 17 is a good example but lets look at one final scripture, 1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you (reconcile you) to God."
That should pretty much sum it up, He did it; it's done, absolutely and completely! (It's Finished! John 19:30) GREAT NEWS! All we have to do is accept what He's already done and embrace it!
Oswald Chambers added this profound mouthful to his devotional on reconciliation, "To fulfill God's perfect design for me requires my total surrender-complete abandonment of myself to Him. Reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively." As Oswald so richly pointed out, having embraced it, we must SHARE IT!

Having said that and allowing that to sink in, lets move on to the second and possibly the most important part of our study on reconciliation As stated in 2 Corinthians 5:18 "has given us the ministry of reconciliation" and vs. 19 "And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation." Remember that I asked above to keep that verse in mind? We have a duty, a mandate as it were, from God, to pass on the wonderful message we've embraced! It says we've been "given the ministry" and He has "committed to us the message" of reconciliation! Neither of those attributes infers an option! It is not optional!
We must spread these wonderful benefits to the reconciliation that Jesus has provided for us to others!
Please allow me to repeat the words of Oswald, "To fulfill God's perfect design for me requires my total surrender-complete abandonment of myself to Him. Reconciliation of the human race according to His plan means realizing Him not only in our lives individually, but also in our lives collectively." To others!
We are all called as ministry workers and messengers of Jesus' Gospel message of reconciliation! He is depending on us to be His body and we can only be fulfilled while in this body by reproducing ourselves!

Ever work on a computer? Ever do an operation one way for so long and someone just walk up one day and show you a shortcut in about 2 seconds, an easier way to do the same task that you did that amazes you and saves you hours of needless work? Sometimes we have something right in front of us and have no idea at all the benefits we could have if we just knew how to take advantage of what's already ours!
Hosea 4:6 states, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." People are dying and going to hell with the provision to their need staring them in the face! They simply don't know it! We, as ministers and messengers have the duty to inform those who are uninformed! We have a heavenly charge to do something with the wonderful provision Jesus has made for every human being! WE MUST TELL OTHERS!
I can remember someone who had a Timex "INDIGLO" watch (I won't mention names, don't ask) for probably 1 year or more before by accident they found out it had an illuminated dial. They couldn't get over how nice the blue light looked and how much better it helped them to tell time at night! They often pushed the newly found button for no other reason but to see it work HOWEVER, they had always had access to that feature, only had no idea that it existed or how to access it's function!

Jesus died almost 2000 years ago and provided everyone (that's what 1 Peter 3:18 says!) with this wonderful reconciliation or return to fellowship with our loving Creator. Even so, people have been going to their graves without understanding how to access what they've already had provided at such a high cost for them!
That's where we need to fill the gap, we need to fulfill our ministry of reconciliation position and spread this message of reconciliation! If you do your part I'll do mine, lets all determine right now to spread the good news! We've heard enough bad news, its time to spread the good news, the news of the reconciliation that God provided to us through His Son Jesus that's free and ripe for the picking! Spread the word!
Spread the word! Spread the word!

Here are the 2 "Sonnets" I made mention to in the above Study in their entirety... Enjoy!

Psalm/Sonnet 5 (RPD)
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Music to the ears of those who love You
Breath and life for all those who walk this earth
Creator of all that is, or was, or ever shall be
Mercy and grace are Your trademarks
Love everlasting for a creation fallen from grace

God incarnate, walking and talking among us
Spreading the love by which this earth was created
Making a way where there was no way
Giving Your life that others may live
Paying a price too high to even comprehend

Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Music to my ears as I accept Your sacrifice
Breath and life eternal as I enter into Your mercy and grace
My peace, my love, my forgiveness bought by Your blood
A covenant of blood, joining God and man once again

Search me this day Lord, search my heart
Help me to walk pleasing in Your sight
Instill in me a passion to become more like You
That through me You may be reproduced in others
God incarnate, walking and talking among us
Making a way where there was no way
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Psalm /Sonnet 8 (RPD)

Lonely, awash in a sea fathomless, adrift in the turbulent white-capped waves
Caught up with all life has to offer, lost and unawares
Seeking safe harbor, tempests all around abound
Life all so meaningless, senseless, yet so profound

Glory transposed into the life of a mere Carpenter, Jesus
Immaculate Conception, the product of love for a lost creation
God reaching out, extending an all-powerful hand
A hand filled with mercy, grace, and life giving power

Never the two shall meet, has fate so declared
This lost creation, so lost, so undeserved of such an act of love
God in all His glory, All Powerful and seated on High
Reached down from heaven and His Son sacrificed with a sigh

Sun, glorious brightness overtaking the clouds of gloom and despair
Is there a chance, daybreak dawning, that my safe harbor beckons near
Jesus I see Your Light in the distance, a lighthouse for all to see
My course I must alter, dangerous shoals abound all around me
Into the sheltered presence of the Most High I take refuge and abide
My course is determined, my mind made up
Undeserved grace, mercy and forgiveness I gratefully receive
Safe harbor, calm waters, peace and joy to all those who believe!

Like the study ends, "The choice, as always, is yours! Choose Christ today!

Be blessed as only Jehovah God can bless you!

Ever in His service,

Richard P. Duffield Jr.

(If you enjoyed this study, if you have comments, criticisms, or anything else to say please feel free to let me know!)