Be Reconciled

17 “Don’t even begin to think that I have come to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I haven’t come to do away with them but to fulfill them. 18 I say to you very seriously that as long as heaven and earth exist, neither the smallest letter nor even the smallest stroke of a pen will be erased from the

Law until everything there becomes a reality.

(Matthew 5:17–18)

Be Reconciled

Good Day Family,

The law served as the means of grace of reconciliation long before Jesus. The pattern of Levitical law describes the offense, recognizes the real damage caused by the offense, and prescribes a remedy toward repair and restoration. When we characterize the biblical narrative as primarily a rulebook, rather than a storybook or extended testimonial, we can overlook the relational nature of the Law.

Jesus invites us to live the righteousness of God, to be a holy people. It often seems that holiness and righteousness are impossible and inaccessible standards. That’s when we take the legalistic approach that makes what is intended to be a way of living into a checklist for life–an either/or proposition rather than a commitment to becoming. Just as faith is not measured by a set of beliefs but a manner of trust, righteousness isn’t attained by reducing our sin tally to zero but rather through our connection to the Righteous One. We are holy because we are claimed companions of a Holy God.

The Sermon on the Mount was given to a crowd by a Person with a message, but, most importantly, the Person was the message. Reconciliation is a way of living…a way of being. When we center the relationship, the law is fulfilled. We can heal and be healed. We can repair and be repaired. We can restore and be restored. We can reconcile and be reconciled.

Be reconciled,

Be well,

Pastor Cheryl

Let us encourage one another. Let us love our neighbor. Let us be the church.