Hallelujah! The Lord has been good to us throughout the past week! It is time for a fresh start with our Lord in this new week that has been added to our life by our heavenly Father, as the Lord has given us a very passionate passage for our meditation. The world we live in is in chaos and everyone needs Jesus (whether they know it or not) because He is the only one can fix our problems, great or small. When we look around us, we can see that we live in a world where mankind is divided on the basis of language, color, class, caste, wealth, education, politics, in addition to nationality, religion, culture, or whatever barriers exist to separate a person from another person. Nevertheless, it was not the same in the beginning when God created mankind in His own likeness and image (Genesis 1:26-27). The Scripture says that He created them male and female and called them human/mankind, as it is mentioned in the Scripture:

Genesis 1:26-27 Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness … So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 5:2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.

God’s intention for mankind was for them to live in the same way they were created and enjoy fellowship with God as well as with one another. In that case, what happened for us now to be so divided and separate from one another? Let us try to find out what caused people to disagree and be divided among themselves. The Scripture states that peoples’ sin and their iniquities have separated them from God, as it is mentioned by prophet Isaiah: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:2). If sins and iniquities of mankind could cause them to rebel and separate from God, the same issues can separate us from each other. In such a situation, our relationship with God will be broken and our co-existence with fellow human beings will be at stake. In this situation, the sin that rules our inner beings can cause us to feel envy against other human beings and get angry with one another, challenge and fight with each other, or even kill one another. For instance, king Solomon stated that … all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another (Ecclesiastes 4:4). In fact, it is not just a saying but that’s the fact! When we (may not be all of us the same but, at least, a few of us) look at others and see their well being and their possessions, and realize that we don’t have what they have or we are not in such a well-to-do position as they are, definitely, at least some of us will feel bad/sad. Such sadness could become envy against them, which will challenge us to get for ourselves what they have – either the same type or more sophisticated stuff than what they have. When we study the Scripture, we can understand all trials and temptations come because of one’s envy of others, as we mentioned above (Ecclesiastes 4:4). For instance, when Adam and Eve were maintaining a right relationship and regular fellowship with God, Satan became envious of such a relationship and caused Adam and Eve to sin against the Lord God and rebel against His will, which caused them to break their right relationship and fellowship with the holy God (Genesis 3:1-24). Similarly, when the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering (and did not look on Cain and his offering with favor), Cain got envious and upset with his own brother Abel and killed him (Genesis 4:2b-8). Another example could be taken from Job’s life (Job 1:1-2:10). Unlike other examples, Job neither rebelled against God nor sinned against Him rather he was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1, 8, 22). Some of Job’s statements about God are very powerful and very impactful, which reveals his understanding of the Almighty God in whom he placed his trust. Job said:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21).

Though he [God] slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face (Job 13:15)

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me (Job 19:25-27)

At the end of Job’s trials and sufferings, God honored Job and blessed him. The Scripture states that God blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part (Job 42:12-17).

Ever since the devil tempted the first humans in the garden of Eden, mankind’s rebellion against God and their envy and enmity against fellow-human beings has been on going. As a result, God destroyed mankind from the face of the earth except Noah and his family who found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:1-9:29). Even after the flood, mankind did not change their attitude towards God and other human beings – it was the same before the flood and after the flood (Genesis 10:1ff). What we can understand from this is that no human effort can bring a solution or put an end to human rebellion against our Creator God or our envy and enmity with fellow-human beings. Nevertheless, God can fix it, if we allow Him to do so. God can fix our brokenness, no matter how complex our brokenness is. For He is the One who created us (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; 5:2; Psalms 139:13-16) and He knows all about us, even more than we know about ourselves or what others know about us. Knowing that no human (individually or collectively) can fix their own problems, God Himself took initiative to fix our problems with God as well as our problems with one another (Isaiah 7:14). God started the process of fixing human brokenness in the Garden of Eden itself (Genesis 3:15). Later, God spoke through prophet Balaam son of Beor [the one who was brought by Balak son of Zippor the king of Moab, to spell a curse on the Israelites during their journey from Egypt to Canaan] who prophesied saying I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17a). Also, God spoke through prophet Isaiah that the Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the Lord (Isaiah 59:20). In the fullness of time, as the fulfillment of those prophecies by the Old Testament prophets, God sent His One and only Son,Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, left His glory in heaven and made Himself nothing, and came down to this wretched world to reconcile humanity with God and unite the divided humankind with one another in love (John 3:16; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11). When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus was sent to this world by His Father in heaven to fulfill what God had foretold through His servants since ancient times (Hebrews 10:7, 9). Jesus Himself declared the purpose of His coming on several occasions. For instance, Jesus said that:

• • He came to reveal God the Father and His love for mankind (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:18; 10:31; 17:21; 1 John 4:10)
  • He came to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17)
  • He came to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 4:18-19)
  • Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:5-8)
  • He came to call sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32)
  • He came to reconcile sinful humanity with the holy God (Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
  • He came to seek and to save the lost (Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 34:11-12; Luke 19:10)
  • He came to save the world from the grip of sin (John 3:17; 12:47; 1 John 4:14)
  • He came to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; Colossians 2:13-14;  1 John 4:10);
  • He came to abolish sin in the world (Psalm 103:12; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:24-28; 1 John 3:8)
  • He came to take away our infirmities and bear our sicknesses (Isaiah 53:4; Matthew 8:17)
  • He came that we may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)
  • He has come to give eternal life to anyone who believes in Hm (John 3:15-16; 6:40; 11:25; Romans 6:23; 1 John 4:9)

Even today, the situation is not changed – people still rebel against the Lord (which separates us from God) and people still have envy and enmity between themselves (which separates us from one another). In the midst of such a disordered situation, the Lord invites us to love God and bring unity between God and mankind; and love one another and bring unity person to person. He is calling us to live a life that will enlighten our own life as well as bring changes in the lives of all those who are around us. Again, this is a tough call in our part because of the diversity that exists among mankind. Humanly thinking, it is impossible to do with our own abilities (individually or collectively), but with the help of Christ it is possible (Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; Philippians 4:13). The best way to do this is to abide in the Lord. The Lord, during His earthly ministry, urged His disciples to abide/remain in Him (John 15:4-5), and today He is inviting us today to abide/remain in Him. The key to abide/remain in Him is to invite Him into our life and accept Him as the Lord and savior of our life. Apostle Paul stated:

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame (Romans 10:9-11)

Once we are in the Lord and continue to abide in Him, we are a new creation, as Apostle Paul stated: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17). This means, God the Father forgave our rebellion and sins against Him and reconciled us to Himself and saved our life from eternal condemnation through the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Thus, God has adopted us as His sons and daughters through His only begotten Son Jesus (Psalm 2:7; John 3;16; Romans 8:14-16; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 John 2:28-3:1; also refer to 2 Samuel 7:14). Since we have become a new creation, we have a new identity (as the children of God) and new mission (God’s mission) to accomplish. It is our call to declare the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ to everyone who has not yet come through the saving grace of Christ. Thus, the ministry of reconciliation is entrusted to us. Apostle Paul outlined a glimpse of the ministry of reconciliation through Christ, a ministry which has been entrusted to us, as he wrote to the Corinthian church:

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, as we have become a new creation in and through Jesus Christ, we have a great responsibility before us to fulfill as God’s chosen people of our generation. Since, God did not count our (and other people’s) sins against Him but reconciled us (the world) to Himself in Christ, He has committed to us the message of reconciliation to share with everyone who has not yet been reconciled to God. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in God’s Son Jesus Christ, but untold numbers of people around us are yet to be saved. Therefore, it is our calling to share the message of God’s forgiveness, reconciliation, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and eternal life to everyone who is closest to us as well as everyone who is farthest from us.  This means, we are called to share the gospel of the Kingdom of God to everyone around us, especially family and friends (which is our Jerusalem), and everyone in and around our regions (which is our Judea) and everyone beyond the borders of our regions (which is our Samaria), and everyone across the national and continental borders (which is our ends of the earth), as Jesus commanded us (Acts 1:8; also refer to Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 13:10; 16:15; Luke 24:44-49; John 20:21). Let us pray for one another for God’s grace and mercy to be upon everyone who undertakes this greater responsibility of sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God to everyone who is not yet saved! May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!