Reconciliation

“For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”      Romans 5: 10,11 NIV

Last week, we wrote on sacrifice. Freedom certainly isn’t free.  It comes at great cost. The United States found out just how high the physical price could be in the final days of World War II while trying to capture Pacific islands on their way to Japan.  We also know that our freedom in Christ cost Jesus His very life’s blood on the cruel Roman cross.

Apparently part of the reason that President Truman finally made the decision to use atomic bombs against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an attempt to end WW II was due to the incredible Allied casualties already sustained in the taking of Iwo Jima, Okinawa and other small Pacific islands and the understanding that perhaps millions more would be required in conventional warfare...so the bombs were dropped. Of course, and understandably so, the anger of Japan against the United States and vice versa, was great indeed. Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, “Time heals all wounds.”

  “On February 19, 1985, the 40th anniversary of the day that U.S. forces began the assault on Iwo Jima, veterans from both forces gathered for the Reunion of Honor just a few meters away from the spot where U.S. Marines had landed on the island. During the memorial service, a granite plaque was unveiled with the message:

It is inscribed on both sides of the plaque, with the English translation facing the beaches where U.S. forces landed and the Japanese translation facing inland, where Japanese troops defended their position. Sacrifice eventually brought reconciliation between enemies.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwo_Jima).

The greater reconciliation is this: Until you receive Christ as Lord and Savior, God sees you as evil and as His enemy; but He is not yours. Colossians 1: 19-23 says, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus],  and through him to reconcile to himself all things,… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.