The Very Purpose of Your Life
ICS Daily Devotions
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NIV) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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. 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.
God’s holiness is an attribute that is often overlooked these days. While God is gracious, He is also holy and righteous. As believers, we are eternally grateful that instead of judging us, He has judged the sin of the world on Jesus Christ when He hung on the cross and dealt with the sin issue that separated mankind from Him. Nobody can stand right before God if He holds us accountable for our sins.
Because God is holy, He cannot tolerate sin, and because He is righteous, He must judge sin. Therefore, what awaits unbelievers is eternal condemnation—the lake of fire—if they reject the only way, the truth and the life through Jesus Christ. God is omniscient. Therefore, we can’t hide anything from Him, though we might be able to put up a facade in front of people. The day will come when all the skeletons in the closet will be revealed. The thought life and every hidden action of all unbelievers will be laid bare before the great white throne, where there will be remorse, anguish, and speechlessness because it will be too late.
While it is the responsibility of unbelievers to decide to receive Christ, there must also be messengers, especially in places where the name of Jesus has not been heard. Romans 10:14-15 challenges us to consider how anyone can call upon the name of Jesus if there is no messenger and tells us how beautiful the feet of those who bear the good news of Jesus Christ are! Who shall bring the good news to those who are yet to be saved, and whom shall the Lord send? All of us are called and mobilised by God because He has commissioned us in His last commandment before He was lifted to heaven (Matthew 28:18-20).
Because God loves us so much, He took the initiative after the fall of mankind to restore us to Himself. Through the Abrahamic covenant, the Messiah was sent to accomplish the reconciliation. Jesus took it upon Himself as the covenant partner to deal with the sin issue forever. God intentionally made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us on the cross, so His wrath towards sin is satisfied through the shedding of Jesus’ blood. Therefore, God does not count our sin against us because Jesus has dealt with it once and for all. We have become the righteousness of God through our belief in Jesus Christ.
Every believer in Jesus Christ has been entrusted with the message and ministry of reconciliation. God’s love compels us to bring the good news to those who have yet to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Being God’s messenger of reconciliation is the very purpose of your life on earth.
Sermon Series： We Are An Ambassador For Christ
