II Corinthians 5:17 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. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Having challenged us in chapter 4 to not lose heart, Paul seeks to give us more perspective. Earlier in this chapter, he reminds us that we should be encouraged by the fact that this world is not our true and final home, but that one day we will be with the Lord (and His people). His purpose in leaving us here is to tell others that they too can be reconciled to God in Christ. He has made us right with God; they can be right with God too. Reconciliation pervades our whole life; it implants within us a desire for righteousness that parallels our hope and desire to be with Him some day. When we are in Christ, we understand that He did all He did not just for me, but for them too, so we want to tell them about it. if we have no desire to see others reconciled to God, are we truly reconciled?
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