17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Indeed, a parallel thought to refreshing is that of reconciliation: setting the record in order, making sure the accounts reflect reality, taking time to check that our relationship is in order. Christ the great reconciler; He came to help us check our records and get our relationship with God in order. The result is the greatest refreshing: making everything new - both how we see things, and how things really are. His righteousness made up the difference in what we owe to God. He took away that sinking feeling that we would never be able to pay our debts on our own. Since Christ has reconciled us to God; we in turn are called to share with others this gift of reconciliation, forgiving as He has forgiven us, and helping them be refreshed with the greatest refreshing possible: New life in Christ.
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