Answering God's Call to Restore

There are moments when the truth of Scripture confronts us so directly that it leaves no room for comfortable distance. As I shared recently with my church family, the message of 2 Corinthians 5 hit me like that. Paul, writing to a church steeped in sin and misunderstanding, speaks not only of the transforming power of the Gospel but of the ministry it births in each believer: reconciliation.

A Holy Compulsion

"For the love of Christ controls us"
(2 Corinthians 5:14, ESV).

Paul doesn’t describe a gentle encouragement or a casual nudge. He speaks of being controlled, compelled by Christ’s love. That same love which bore our sins now drives us to act—not out of obligation, but because we have been changed. We are no longer our own. We've been bought with a price, and that purchase sets us on mission.

The New Creation Mandate

Paul writes, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (v.17). This transformation is not theoretical. It touches every part of our identity and purpose. With new life comes a new calling. We are not merely recipients of grace; we are carriers of the message that made us new.

Entrusted with Reconciliation

Paul continues, "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (v.18). The call to reconcile is not optional. It is entrusted to us. And it is radical.

I had to come face-to-face with that myself. There's a tendency in my family—and in my own heart—to avoid conflict, to cut people off, to let pain dictate who we deal with. But as I studied this passage, I realized how deeply I had been sinning in silence. If I'm asking someone to pay a higher price than Christ paid for me, then I'm distorting the Gospel.

When the Gospel Gets Personal

Reconciliation isn't comfortable. It's not convenient. But it's Gospel work. To forgive as we've been forgiven. To restore where there has been fracture. I was sitting in a coffee shop, wrestling with this message, and I looked over at my buddy and said, "I'm so irritated at God right now." Because I knew what this meant: there were phone calls I needed to make. People I needed to confess my sin to and ask forgiveness from. Not because they deserved it, but because Jesus deserved my obedience.

Corrie Ten Boom's story underscored this truth for me. A survivor of Ravensbrück concentration camp, she once faced a man who had been a guard in that camp. He had come to her, now a believer, asking for forgiveness. She had every reason to recoil. But she extended her hand and forgave—not in her own strength, but through the power of Christ within her. That is reconciliation.

A Call with Urgency

This is not a passive invitation. Paul "implores" us: "Be reconciled to God" (v.20). That imploring extends horizontally too. The Gospel demands urgency, because the Gospel has power. Power not just to save, but to restore. To heal. To make new.

As a Kids Ministry Pastor, I know how tempting it is to compartmentalize our lives. Church on Sunday. Family during the week. Work, stress, repeat. But if I wear the name of Christ, I must carry His grace not just in my message, but in my relationships. Reconciliation isn't a special calling for the few. It's the mandate for every new creation.

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (v.21).

That is the great exchange. And it calls us to be reconcilers in His name.

Todd Hixenbaugh,
Kids Ministry Pastor 

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