by Rev. Dr. Dezo Schreiner

Together, we’ve been listening for God’s call on our lives. And today, that call comes to us clearly: we are called to reconciliation.

Now, you might be thinking, Do I really have anyone I need to be reconciled with? Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t think you do. But Paul has a word for all of us.

The message from 2 Corinthians was written to a church full of tension. There was conflict among the people, conflict with Paul himself, and confusion about what a faithful Christian life was supposed to look like. It wasn’t a perfect church. It was a struggling church.

That already sounds familiar.

And to that struggling church, Paul says something bold: God is reconciling you—and through you, God is reconciling the world.

That means this message is not just for them. It’s for us.

Reconciliation Begins With God

Paul’s theology stands firmly on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Christ died and rose again, sin no longer has the final word. Separation is no longer permanent. Weakness can become strength. Despair can become hope.

As Scripture reminds us, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of God’s Son. Reconciliation doesn’t start with us. It starts with God.

Karl Barth once said that reconciliation is the completed work of God in Jesus Christ before it ever becomes our work. God did it first. Our calling is to live inside what God has already done.

That, my friends, is grace.

What Reconciliation Really Means

The word Paul uses for reconciliation comes from the Greek katalasso. It means a radical change. Not surface-level peace. Not pretending nothing happened. But a deep transformation—hostility turned into friendship, distance turned into nearness, brokenness turned into wholeness.

And let me be honest: reconciliation is one of the most beautiful and most difficult words in the Christian faith.

Reconciliation means something was broken. There was harm. There was separation. And restoring what has been broken takes courage, patience, and humility.

It is deeper than forgiveness. Forgiveness opens the door. Reconciliation walks through that door together and begins rebuilding the house.

Why Reconciliation Is Hard

I struggle with reconciliation because rebuilding trust is not easy. When harm has been done, it’s hard to just move on. It’s hard when people want restoration without accountability. Reconciliation takes steps. It takes honesty.

Paul tells us that God has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation. That means we are not just forgiven people. We are not just restored people. We are sent people.

We are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation—people who work to heal emotional wounds, restore relationships, and rebuild trust through truth and accountability.

That means saying, I hurt you.
That means hearing, You hurt me.
That means taking responsibility and choosing to create a future not defined by the past.

In counseling language, reconciliation requires acknowledging harm honestly, expressing genuine remorse, and rebuilding trust through transparent communication. It involves boundaries. It involves change. It involves action.

Seeing People Through Christ’s Eyes

Paul says that from now on, we no longer regard anyone from a merely human point of view. Reconciliation starts with vision.

We stop seeing enemies.
We stop seeing labels.
We start seeing new creations in Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that the church is only the church when it exists for others. We become the church when we can see one another as belonging to the same body. Seeing others through Christ’s eyes is the first step toward reconciliation.

But before we reconcile with others, we must believe something deeply: God has reconciled us.

Some of us are still living as though guilt defines us. As though shame gets the final word. But the resurrection tells a different story. The old has passed away. The new has come.

The Cost–and the Promise–of Reconciliation

Reconciliation will cost you something. It will cost pride. It will cost comfort. It will cost control. But it will also bring freedom.

As we reflect during Black History Month, we are reminded that wounds in our nation are real and deep. Reconciliation requires honesty, not silence. It reminds us that faith sustained people through suffering and birthed movements of justice and freedom.

Biblical reconciliation is not shallow peace. It is truth, justice, and love held together.

This is the work of the gospel. And the church is called to lead the way.

We are ambassadors. We are new creations. We are called to reconciliation.

When the church lives this calling, the world catches a glimpse of God’s new creation breaking in.

Q&A Summary

Q: What does it mean to be called to reconciliation?
A: It means living out God’s work of restoring relationships, healing wounds, and rebuilding trust through Christ.

Q: Where does reconciliation begin?
A: Reconciliation begins with God, not with us. God reconciled the world through Jesus Christ.

Q: How is reconciliation different from forgiveness?
A: Forgiveness opens the door; reconciliation walks through it together and rebuilds what was broken.

Q: Why is reconciliation difficult?
A: Because it requires honesty, accountability, humility, and real change—not avoidance or denial.

Q: What role does the church play in reconciliation?
A: The church is called to be ambassadors of reconciliation, leading with truth, justice, and love.

Q: What hope does the resurrection offer in reconciliation?
A: The resurrection declares that the past does not have the final word and that new creation is possible.