Scripture for Today, 1-21-21: Reconciliation?

From Alienation to Reconciliation
For the love of Christ constrains us; that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him Who died for them & rose again. [..] Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature: old things are passed away; all things are become new. All things are of God, who reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ & hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.​

2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Romans 5:6-11

1-21-21, Pastor Charles Stanley -- Separation, rejection, and alienation are unpleasant experiences that we usually try to avoid at all costs. However, we live in a fallen world, so we cannot totally escape them.

Isolation from other people is bad enough, but what's worse is that many live apart from the heavenly Father. How tragic and futile life must be when it is spent completely detached from its Creator. God planted within each of us a desire to be in relationship with Him, so until we find our connection to Him, we will always feel that something is missing.

Yet as crucial as that relationship is to our well-being, something stands in its way; whether by our thoughts or actions, we have all violated the Lord's commands (Rom. 3:23) and our pure, holy God cannot be in the presence of sin.

Romans 6:23 states that the penalty for sin is death, which is an eternal separation from the Lord. Therefore, we will always have a void.

What a bleak outlook for mankind!

But our loving heavenly Father solved the dilemma by sending His Son, Jesus, to pay our penalty. Fully God and fully man, Jesus lived the perfect life, took all the inequity of repentant sinners [Luke 13:3] upon Himself, and died a gruesome death on the cross. No longer are we condemned for our wrongs, because Christ took our place. And three days later, He victoriously rose to life.

Salvation is available to anyone who is born again [John 3:3, 7] believing, repenting and receiving this remarkable gift. John 3:16 describes how reconciliation puts an end to our alienation: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Thank You, Lord.