Read: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (v. 18)
Today we celebrate! As we’ve noted, the cross is the clear focal point of the Christian story. But the cross all by itself is not good news. If the story ends with Jesus’s crucifixion, it ends with tragedy. Jesus is exposed as just another false messiah.
Instead, the story ends with the surprising discovery of the empty tomb. In the cross and empty tomb (they always go together), God’s new creation is here—that’s the good news we celebrate today. God is reconciling all that is broken and fractured in this world. Atonement, at its heart, is about at-one-ment. Everything that was shattered is now being healed and made one (whole) again in Christ.
First, God is reconciling us to himself through faith in Jesus. “[God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (v. 21). Second, we are reconciled to one another and to all of creation. Empowered by the Spirit, the church is now the primary instrument of God’s healing and reconciliation for the sake of the world. Paul says we are “ambassadors for Christ” (v. 21), called and sent to be bridge-builders, wall-breakers, and peace-makers.
As you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus today, what in your own life needs healing and reconciliation? What needs forgiveness, mending, or repair? In the power of the crucified and risen Jesus, will you make the first move?
As you pray, thank God for the empty tomb and the promise of restoration.
Brian Keepers has been an ordained pastor in the Reformed Church in America for more than 20 years. He is currently serving as the lead pastor of Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. Brian is married to Tammy, and they have two daughters and a granddaughter.
