Recently, I read an article with unsettling pictures of some of the scariest bridges in the world. Some spanned across deep gorges and others over great bodies of water. Some were rickety and unmanned. Some swayed in the wind and some barely had rails to hold onto. But each of them served a purpose… a way to get to the other side. Did you know that at one time there was a GREAT chasm that stood between you and God? A gorge that could not be crossed on our own. The Bible tells us that we were enemies of God (Colossians 1:21). Our sins put a great divide between us and God. But the cross solved that problem. The cross became our bridge.
This is called reconciliation. God wanted us to come to Him. God wanted us access into His throne… where we could have a personal relationship with Him. So, He provided a way. He sent His Son to take our place and forgive us of our sins. This is the bridge. And when we cross that bridge, we are made right with God. Hence, we are in right standing with Him. But unlike the scariest bridges in the world, His bridge is secure and will never fail. It’s made of the strongest material ever… the blood of His Son.
On the other side is freedom, hope, life, peace, joy, forgiveness. You and I could never experience any of those things without the cross and the way God reconciled us to Himself. Our verse in 2 Corinthians 5 speaks of a truth we need to keep in mind… once we’ve been reconciled, we are given the ministry of reconciliation. This is a ministry passed to each of us. No one is exempt. We are to bring people to the bridge and show them that the only way to the other side by kneeling at the cross and surrendering to the Lordship of Christ.
How do we do this? We strive for unity and not division. When we are divided with people, they will never see their need for Christ nor will they hear what we say. We tell people that Jesus is the only way (the gospel), we live in a right relationship with Jesus (seeking Him at every juncture), we love even those who are unlovable, we pray for everyone. Paul goes on in his message to the Corinthians and said: “We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind” (2 Corinthians 5:3-4).
This is the ministry each of us has been called to. We should take it very seriously if we are help others be reconciled to God… to cross that great divide.