What do I have to offer?
What do I have to bring to the table?
I know that there are plenty of people like me who might feel the same way, no matter where they are in life. I want this to be an encouragement to my teammates on the World Race as well as a calling for all those who are supporting us financially and prayerfully!
You see God’s been tugging at my heart in this area. I mean, sure we all have a set of skills and ways that we KNOW that we can help people. But does it matter if where they’re headed eternally is no different when we’re done serving the people we reach out to? I can clothe and feed every homeless man, woman, and child yet as scripture says, “… but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2b). That love is not just service. It’s sacrifice! It always has been, and there is no better way to show that then to point to the cross!
I am learning more and more the power of reconciliation. That’s what it’s all about! Over the course of the Old and New Testament we see how reconciliation between God and His creation is constant! Let’s, for the sake of context and simplicity, look at the definition of reconciliation:
Reconciliation – : The act of causing two people or groups to become friendly again after an argument or disagreement.
: The process of Finding a way to make two different ideas, facts, etc., exist or be true at the same time.
Now, with that in mind read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. (If you’d rather not get up and go find your Bible here’s a link, http://www.esvbible.org/2+Corinthians+5%3A11-21/ ) What stands out to you? Is there anything there that blows your mind?? If not then let me show you what I’m no less than stoked about! Look more specifically at verses 18 and 19,
“18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
Do you see it!?! What is the Gospel folks? What is the very thing we proclaim has transformed us and believe will transform the world? God created everything! Heaven and earth are His to own. He then created mankind! Us! We had it so good in the Garden of Eden, but mankind still threw that “heaven on earth” away for sin. So God’s standard of experiencing eternal life with Him forever is perfection, righteousness, holiness. The consequence for not living up to that standard is eternal life in hell. But we cannot attain that. So right off the bat we are born sinners qualified for hell. Yet God being a gracious, merciful, AND just God gave us His son, Jesus! Jesus humbled himself to be fully man and fully God and did not sin! He was righteous, perfect, and holy in all he said and did! So he took our punishment when we crucified him to the Cross. But it wasn’t enough for him to die, but to conquer death! Which is exactly what he did three days later! Right then and there, God provided a way for a hopeless sinner (You and me) to experience the reward of one who has attained perfection, righteousness, and holiness.
So in light of that and verses 18 and 19, CHRIST PERFECTED THE ULTIMATE RECONCILIATION!! Look at the word definition and those verses again! Christ took two facts:
1.) We are sinners and if left alone will always be sinners from now all the way to hell. (Romans 6:23)
And 2.) God is holy, and His standard for salvation is holiness and righteousness.
These two facts, apart from Christ, are, by definition, irreconcilable! They cannot be reconciled unless something changes one of those two facts! Either God has to lower His standard for us so we can attain it on our own and God thereby no longer be a holy righteous God. OR there has to be a way for God to redeem what is born tainted and spiritually fallen so that Heaven is attainable! Verse 19 says it all! God gave His perfect son, Jesus Christ, the punishment for fact #1 so that we have the opportunity to experience fact #2. God made it possible for facts 1 and 2 to become compatible with each other. To become, reconciled! ONLY God could do that through ONLY Christ. No one else, no other god, and no other religion can even come close to doing that!
Teammates, support team, and everyone else who is reading this (And amazingly made it this far!) we live in a world that opposes this truth. Surrounded by religions that will not agree. My teammates and I will be experiencing nothing but this for 11 months in 11 different countries together. The amazing thing is that in-spite of all that God has done for us, God still chooses to call US and entrust US with this message of Ultimate Reconciliation! Read verses 20 and 21,
“20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
If we are reconciled to God then we are ambassadors for Christ. Not by our choice. We assume “ambassadorship” the moment we experience salvation! We are expected and entrusted with the responsibility of spreading the message of ultimate reconciliation as Christians! This is why it is absolutely crucial that we completely deny the “seeker friendly gospel” and why it is absolutely crucial that we share the gospel that convinces the world of their sin, such that it drives them to repentance and then ultimately to worship! Am I saying we should go overseas yelling a gloom and doom gospel of fire and weeping and gnashing of teeth? No way! We must do all this in love (Remember 1 Corinthians 13)! But a gospel without sin will deprive it’s hearers from understanding what they’re being saved from!
You guys, I’ve ranted, gotten on my soap-box, gotten off my soap-box, and then back on again in the course of this blog. I know it’s long and I apologize. But this is so cool!!! This is what we have to offer. This is what we have to bring to the table folks. If nothing else, THIS is what really matters when we serve!
To my teammates: Please read Ephesians 6:10-20. This passage is my prayer for you and me as we approach the World Race together. That as ambassadors we are given the words from God to say to all whom we see and meet so that we will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. I pray this emboldens us! Amen!
To my supporters: Please know that it is my prayer for you also. God has made you a huge part of making this happen! So be encouraged as you go to your job, your friends, your family, etc. and remember that if you are made a new creation in Christ, that you too have the responsibility of sharing this message of reconciliation.
To anyone else who is reading this: Please seriously consider these truths that are found in God’s Word alone! This is for you, and for God’s glory.
Reconciled, in Greek, is Katallasso : From kata, an intensive, and alasso, to change. To be reconciled is to be intensely changed! That is what we are as Christians, and our lifestyle should show it! Let’s remember this as we go out into the world today!
God bless!
Daniel Ingalls
