PONDER THIS

Jesus brings us to God. What will sin do? Sin separates us from a holy God. On the cross, Jesus took holy God with one hand, sinful Man with the other hand, and by His blood, He reconciled God and Man. When Scripture says He brings us to God in 1 Peter 3:18 the Greek word bring—prosago—means to take an individual and present him to a king or a dignitary. That’s what Jesus has done. Jesus has taken us by the hand to present us to God the Father. He’s brought us to God. He’s said, “Father these are Mine. I purchased them with My blood on that cross.” Does that excite you?

King David had a son named Absalom. Absalom rebelled against his father, and a woman in the kingdom said, “David you need to do something to reconcile your son, to get him back” (2 Sam. 14:13, author’s paraphrase). She said in 2 Samuel 14:14, “For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.” Isn’t that a great Gospel text in the Old Testament? We’re like water spilled on the ground. God has a way of bringing us back.

• How can we reflect God in the way we reconcile with others? Who is someone you need to reconcile with?
• What excites you about the way Jesus reconciled you with God? How do you share that excitement with others?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray and thank God for how He has reconciled you. Ask Him to help you reflect His reconciliation to others.