Today we need to discover what it means to become new in Christ and the wonderful impact it has in us, our humanity, and our community!
For a recording of this blog go to: “Restoring Relationships through Christ: Reciprocity Matters.” (Agents of Grace) on Podbean, check it out!
https://www.podbean.com/ei/pb-dvxq6-119cc32
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (NLT):
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. “
The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.
And God has
given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.
And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
“Forgiveness may be one-sided. But reconciliation requires both parties to be willing to participate in restoring the relationship.” - Reference
1. RE-Created in Christ - God’s Gift to us!
We are saved for a purpose! Redeemed to reconcile the world in Christ!
The OLD life is gone and a NEW life has begun!
We are RE-created in Christ.
—- this new life is filled with eternal values and we live by different principles!
It is the result of a gift to us!
—- this grace given to us makes us agents of grace … like the spreading of a cure for Illness.
Once we understand this grace (free gift) we are motivated to a purpose!
In Christian terms, grace can be generally defined as “God’s favor toward the unworthy” or “God’s benevolence on the undeserving.” In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us, despite the fact that we fall short of living righteously. Reference
Grace is the opposite of karma, which is all about getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. — Justin Holcomb
The word “reconciliation” is less commonly used. And generally, at least in the Scripture, it deals with the relationship between God and humanity. Reconciliation is the Greek word katallagē, meaning “an exchange; reconciliation, restoration to favor.” (Ed Jarrett, CT.com)
This gift to us means that we are motivated to be Agents of Grace!
2. Generosity - Our Response to God’s Gift!
I love the song of grace: “
Grace, Grace - God’s Grace! Grace that will pardon and cleanse within!”
How do we respond to that which was given to us by GOD, in Christ?
We cannot reciprocate in exact change? It is not apples to apples.
Our knowing of God’s grace makes us new! We are no longer “transactional” in our response.
Have you experienced someone’s gift to you and think, how can I repay you?
- Roadside service (unexpected generosity.)
- Maybe it is like receiving something of value that cannot be simply paid back?
- Perhaps it is receiving good news when you expected nothing but bad news!!
As we receive and understand the depths of grace we enter into a deeper way of life — We are transformed!!
We see life as transformational not transactional.
** We give because we have been given! **
Jesus Calling devotional:
I AM WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. You face nothing alone--nothing! When you feel anxious, know that you are focusing on the visible world and leaving Me out of the picture.
The remedy is simple: Fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Verbalize your trust in Me, the Living One who sees you always. I will get you safely through this day and all your days.
But you can find Me only in the present.
Each day is a precious gift from My Father.
How ridiculous to grasp for future gifts when today's is set before you! Receive today's gift gratefully, unwrapping it tenderly and delving into its depths. As you savor this gift, you find Me.
3. Reciprocity - Our gift to others! (Ambassadors of Reconciliation.)
I like to think of reconciliation as reciprocity.
It is the act of generosity that is received and then acted upon toward someone else!
Reciprocity is universal and at the core of civilization! Every culture needs it to survive.
It goes beyond a fair exchange!
For Christians: It is defined as the Golden Rule::
My friend, Malcolm Evans (died March 2021) was a businessman that wrote a book on business ethics: Leading Business by the Book.
Family members gathered and reflected stating: (He was) A dedicated family man, businessman, and philanthropist, Malcolm would often say, "You can't outgive God", and lived his life as a testament to this truth found in the scriptures (Malachi 3:8-12).
Quote from Malcolm’s book:
Whatever city or country you do business in, you'll find a parallel of the Golden Rule- often known as
"the ethic of reciprocity."
…However, you'll discover that many of these are phrased in the negative sense.
When Jesus presented the Golden Rule, he presented it in a positive fashion.You see, it's one thing to say, “Don't do to others what you don't want done to you." But it's quite another to follow Christ's words, "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31).
Confucius said, "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you" (Analects 15:23).
The Hindus teach, "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you" (Mahabharata 5:1517).
Other religions seem to reflect Christ's positive view in concept
but not in practice. For example, Islam teaches: “None of you [truly]
believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself" (Number 13 of Imam Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths). *
Christianity goes beyond simply a reply …. We call it being a blessing!
The law of blessing
says that we will always reap what we have sow. This is, in part RECIPROCITY!
The way to develop RECIPROCITY is through GENEROSITY!
Let me illustrate this from Malachi’s perspective:
Malachi 3:11-12 (We find an IF-THEN principle …. Test GOD in our generosity!
“Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”
—-
As agents of grace we can bless others because of what GOD did on our behalf!
We are called to live out the Law of Blessing:
Maybe it is a waitress.
Perhaps it is being courteous to others and even to the cashier.
It is going the extra mile in our generosity!
As you do unto the least of those among you! It is doing for someone who cannot reciprocate in the same way! Yet, it is like giving the gift of “treating them as God’s creation!”
— We are called to be Agents of Grace!
— We are called to the ministry of reconciliation!
On 2/2/2022 reports tells us that Winter will continue for 6-weeks according to Punxsutawney Phil
He has made his 2022 Groundhog Day prediction: winter is here to stay!
The furry rodent saw his shadow Wednesday morning in Punxsutawney, Pa., therefore predicting six more weeks of winter.
Perhaps you took those couple of days off due to the snowstorm that we just had and watched a few new movies like Groundhogs Day.
Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd repeatedly.
“It is only when Phil stops using the loops to indulge his own desires and instead uses them to selflessly help others that he is freed.[11] In repeatedly failing to save the old homeless man, Phil is also forced to accept that he is not a god.[134] Similarly, regardless of how much knowledge he gains about Rita, and despite his accomplishments learned throughout the loops, he is unable to impress her enough to earn her love. He wins her over only once he stops trying to do so, when he demonstrates genuine care for helping others without fakery or self-interest, knowing that the day will likely reset and it will have all been for naught. Only then does Rita return his affections.[10][11][129]
The aspects of Rita that Phil mocked at the start of the film have become qualities he admires and respects, and in turn, Phil receives Rita's love not because he desires it, but because he has genuinely become the type of person that Rita could love.”
I love what can summarized this topic by Ed Jarrett of CT.com —
He writes: “Reconciliation involves forgiveness. But it goes beyond forgiveness. When I forgive someone, there is no guarantee that we will have a restored relationship. It may well be that even after I have forgiven someone that we remain estranged. Reconciliation, however, restores the relationship.
Forgiveness may be one-sided. But reconciliation requires both parties to be willing to participate in restoring the relationship. It is always possible, and expected, for me to forgive.
But reconciliation will not be possible if the other party is not willing to participate.
Yet, as we receive God’s Grace, we become people of Generosity (a response to God’s love that transformed us) — And we then can bless others (even if they don’t reciprocate)
because it points to the same hope of transformation that GOD offers!For a recording of the message go to: “Restoring Relationships through Christ: Reciprocity Matters.” (Agents of Grace) on Podbean, check it out!
https://www.podbean.com/ei/pb-dvxq6-119cc32
