Daily Reading // 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
READY // SILENCIO
Take a moment to quiet your mind and prepare your heart for your time with the Lord.
READ // LECTIO
Read the passage above up to three times aloud. Allow yourself to feel the words as they are read.
REFLECT // MEDITATIO
Now direct your focus on the words, phrases concepts or sentences that got your attention. What is God speaking to you today through His word?
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV) that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
The ministry of reconciliation.
It means to exchange one thing for another. It means to take what currently exists and trade it for something else - something better. The English word means to repair something; to take parts that have been broken apart and bring them back together again.
Healing is a form of reconciliation. Jesus often took something broken - like blind eyes, lame feet, deaf ears, leperous flesh - and replaced it for a healthy version.
Of course, salvation is a powerful form of reconciliation. Jesus doesn’t just take away my sinful life. He also replaces it with a restored version. He exchanges hopelessness with hopefulness.
It works on a daily level too. The day that I live today will be different because of my new life in Christ. The day that I would have spent without Him has been replaced with a day changed by His activity in my life.
Relationships are an important part of this reconciliation. Relationships broken by offense are reconciled through forgiveness.
I am not just one reconciled. I have been given the ministry of reconciliation. I am a reconciler. A fixer.
Jesus is still healing, still saving, still restoring relationships. He wants to do it through me. What will I encounter today that is broken? Am I ready to put those things back together again?
RESPOND // ORATIO
Pray in response to what the Lord has spoken to you.
Jesus, Empower me by Your Spirit for a ministry of reconciliation. Use me today. Amen!
Tomorrow’s reading -> Psalm 40:1-17