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A New York Times Magazine article says that back in 1980, when Jimmy Carter ran against Ronald Reagan for president, George Will came upon Carter’s debate notes and sneaked them to the Reagan camp. Reagan won the debate and the election. Years later while Carter was teaching a Sunday school class on forgiveness, he recalled what George Will had done, so he wrote him a note and confessed his resentment toward him. His motive was to reconcile with George Will. Yet this cannot compare to what God did to bring about reconciliation between Him and us. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, “You were [God’s] enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” Paul then tells how we should respond to God’s actions on our behalf. He says we must continue to believe and stand firmly in this truth: God has reconciled us to himself and wants us to work toward harmony among God’s people. Today, God counts on us to present that same message of reconciliation — between God and people, and among God’s people of all races and ethnic groups.
