Reconciled!

Reconciled!

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Timothy 2:5 KJV

Context:

Paul writes to a young man he met in one of his many travels. He taught him the way of the Lord, even laid hands on him and commissioned him, asking him to stay in Ephesus in order to counter the false teaching that was gaining ground there. Paul had taken time and effort to teach the truth, and would not want any false teacher to come in and destroy all the work done. As I take stock of my own life too, what am I doing: am I striving to establish truth or am I seeking convenient falsehood? Is the truth of God's Word safe in my hands or am I all about what people want to hear? God desires that ALL men come to the knowledge of the truth. He is the Truth, so he is the focus of all that matters. 

Message and Response:

I note that today's extract refers to the one God. From God's Perspective, there is only one genuine God and it matters if I have found that one true God. This God tells me all that he desires from me, and I will only be blessed by him when I do what he commands. I cannot do my own thing and then demand that he approves it; I am not his master. He is, and whatever he commands must be my ultimate pursuit. 

Now that same one God demands a response and reaction from man. He has done all he can to bridge the gap that sin caused when man fell in the Garden of Eden. The truth of God is that man could not find his way back to God by himself; he needed help that only the true God could provide. That was why He sent one called a mediator: a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement; a go-between. Jesus was made the mediator between the true God and man. It means to me that only in and by Christ the mediator can there be peace between God and man. No other mediator can do the things that Jesus did to bring us to this new standing with God. He gave his life as a ransom so that all men could approach God's throne of grace. He continues to intercede on our behalf before this God, so that whenever we make the approach, he is able to listen to us. 

I note the word: 'attempts to make.' That is quite important: Jesus has done all that is required to broker that agreement between God and man, but there is a place for my freewill, where I choose to embrace what has been given me, and take hold of it. Jesus does not go against the exercise of my freewill, just as he cannot do anything about the consequences of my freewill. With all that Jesus has done, would it not amount to foolishness not to at least take him up on the offer and try him out? Is it not better to take Jesus up on his offer and then find out if he is true or not, and if you find out that he has lied, you can try something or someone else? Wherever it is right now that you are, can you say with all certainty that you have found peace with the true God? If you have not, as long as you are able to read this, it is not too late for you. 

And of course, the one sent as a mediator had to understand the position and perspective of both parties. God, who wanted man to be reconciled to him, had to send one like himself, his son, God the son, to come to earth like the man he was trying to save, so that the son could walk in our shoes, know how best to make the will of God the Father known to us, and then reconcile us back to God. No other way would have worked, because one party would have claimed that the other party did not understand or appreciate the position of the other. We have God coming down to earth as man, revealing God to man, and bringing man back to God. The work is already complete, and all who come to this God find peace with God. The channel is the man Jesus Christ, one who walked the earth like us. He knows us, understands our weaknesses, and provides the help we need to the end of our days. He will never leave us alone, and he will ensure we get to the place where he is when our journey is complete. Don't forget: there is only one true God, and only one true mediator. While you have life, try God out. Your eternity will be glad you did. His time of favour is here.