May 15, 2013

Intimacy Is Possible

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has commit-ted to us the message of reconciliation.
—2 Corinthians 5:19

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What is God’s response to human sin, and to the brokenness, corruption, and violence that spread because of it? Does God give up on his good creation? Does God explode in anger because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, or because of the wickedness of their descendants, including us?

No, in effect God says, “I did not create you to perish. I created you for life and to be in fellowship with me. I will not abandon you, and I will not forsake you.”

How can reconciliation between God and a fallen humanity be possible? On the one side is the triune God with holy intimacy, complete wholeness, and perfect love. On the other side is the corrupt, broken, fearful human race.

An invasion takes place when the Father sends his Son to form a union between God and fallen humanity. Jesus, the Son of God, becomes human in every way—except that he is without sin. He becomes a second Adam, and he does not fail to obey God. To complete the reconciliation, the Son has to pay the price of Adam’s disobedience and die. By his death he breaks “the power of him who holds the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14) and reconciles all who will believe in him as Savior. The Lord our God has done this so that we can live!

Father, we stand in awe of you and your commitment to your creation. You have provided salvation for us through your Son, our Lord Jesus. We are eternally grateful! Amen.

About the author — John Kuperus

Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.

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