Reconciliation Remains the Goal

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. [2 Corinthians 5.18]

All of what??? From the context of Paul's statement here, we can safely conclude that the discussion which precedes this statement contains "all of this."

In today's OYCB reading, it starts off with a message of forgiveness and restoration of a man in the church at Corinth. The man had been excluded from the church for willful sin, but he repented. 2 Corinthians 2.5 picks up then with Paul's encouragement to the church to forgive and restore.

From the forgiveness and restoration of the wayward brother, Paul discusses some intense truth about living in Christ.

Paul also discusses the frailty of our human existence and the need for patient persistence (never give up). In this discussion, Paul reveals the obstacles to living for Christ but also the victory in perseverance.

And finally, Paul makes the opening scripture statement above...

I want to develop these ideas more... there is SO much here, but suffice it for now to see that Paul had a firm grasp of the circumstances surrounding serving Jesus Christ and that the ministry of reconciliation is and remains the goal.

Father, I am so grateful today for the words written by Paul that give so much encouragement to the Church!!