This is a word we do not use a lot in our average day. However, it is one of the most important spiritual concepts we have in understanding who we are in Christ as new creations.
I do not mean to be flippant, but one of the ways we use the term that may help us understand its significance in our relationship with Christ has to do with our checkbook. It may not be as common today, but there was a time when people stated that they had to reconcile their checkbook. This meant that they had to ensure that the activity they had recorded in the check registry was the same as what the bank said they had done. If we agree with each other, there are not opportunities for errors.
Reconciliation before God works in much the same way. When we are reconciled to God, we agree as to what is in our account. The major difference is, unlike the bank, God is the one who deposits into our account, and we are allowed to benefit from it.
Because of the consequence of sin, we have been alienated from God. This means our account is totally empty of any spiritual benefit. However, we can do nothing about this deficit on our own. The great news is, when we humble ourselves before a holy God, confess our sin, and ask for his forgiveness, our accounts are suddenly full and running over. God fills our lives with his holiness and the presence of his Holy Spirit.
Because God is holy, he cannot live in a place of sin. Reconciliation means that sin is erased and replaced with the righteousness or holiness of Jesus. Our account is now balanced. Our lives now agree with God’s reckoning of our account.
But God does something else. He allows us to join him in this process of reconciliation with others. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, give us the truth of this amazing gift from God. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
Not only has our sin been eliminated and replaced with the riches of God’s eternal Kingdom, but he also allows us to help others receive this gift as well. We are ambassadors of this message. This means we can share the wealth of Jesus with everyone so their sin can be eliminated, and their accounts can be filled as well. In doing so, we assure others will join us in God’s eternal heaven. What could be greater than knowing someone has the riches of heaven because you shared them?