Exult and Reconcile

There is so much despair and anger in the country. The message of Romans 5:1-11 has
never been more appropriate. Romans 5:1 reads, “Therefore having been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:8-9 reads,
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be
saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:11 concludes this section, “And
not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received the reconciliation.

God has a real and justifiable reason to be angry with those outside of the church.
People with no relationship with God are described in these passages as “helpless”,
“ungodly”, “sinners” and “enemies”. These descriptors could be used by our polarized
countrymen in description of those on the opposite side.

And so we once were, until we were justified by God via our faith.

God offers us peace. True peace, the absence of conflict and an assurance of calm in a
time of conflict, can only be found in The Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, we can
celebrate, or as the New American Standard states we can exult in the hope of our glory
of God. I am ready to exult, aren’t you? I am tired of the polarized enmity, aren’t you?

We can exult, because we can be reconciled. We can be reconciled to God through The
Lord Jesus Christ. We can be reconciled to each other through our fellowship of being
in Christ Jesus. We as Christians are to be the ambassadors of reconciliation,
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us;
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Let us all
act in the spirit of “what would Jesus do?” the next time we have an opportunity to be
hateful, spiteful, petty or polarizing, and in humble gratitude be loving, forgiving, the
stronger person and reconciling.