My wife is a very good painter. She started drawing as a teenager and we still have some of her work. She has the gift. Now that she is retired from being a Kindergarten Teacher she is learning to paint and using her drawing skills in the process. I’m amazed at what she can do. If you put a gun to my head, I couldn’t paint like her (but then she says the same thing about my writing).

I tell her that her painting is ministry. Doing what God gifts you to do is always an integral part of your ministry. When you were born, God gave you certain gifts. You have to develop them, of course, but they are there for you to use in your creational-redemptive ministry throughout your life.

Some people like to separate the two, Creation and Redemption as two separate and distinct ministries. In fact, some people like to say that when they are a Biologist, for example, they are doing God’s will for their life and leave it at that. I, usually, am on the other side of the debate and talking about our responsibility as followers, believers, and disciples to be involved in the Ministry of Reconciliation that God has given all of his people whether they are also Biologists or Painters as well.

Yes, there is a bit of a distinction, especially in this world of sin and rebellion against God but Jesus brought the two things together. When we follow him, we can use our creational gifts to support our redemptive purposes. No problem.

My wife does it well. She uses her painting as a way to build relationships. She brings her faith into her pictures by painting things like Mary Magdalene and other characters from the Bible (to be used in my books) but she also understands something crucial that is the bridge between the creational and the redemptive purpose of her life.

She understands that Painting is Worship. Yes, worship.

She is always in awe of God’s color palette and his ability to make the most beautiful sunsets and landscapes. She is always aware that he is the Great Artist, and she is simply trying to copy him with what little ability she might have. She is aware that imitation is not just the highest form of flattery, but it is true and spiritual worship. And that is the key.

A biologist imitates the Great Scientist. A farmer imitates the Great Creator and so on. So long as it is good and ethical, and we can imagine God doing it first, then we are imitating God. Science can also be used for evil, farming can also grow unhealthy crops in unhealthy ways so the imitation is not just in the act of painting but also in the content of what you paint. Not that my wife has to only paint churches or biblical characters. God paints everything.

Still, you get the point. Fulfilling our creational calling and using our creational gifts is a form of worship and in that sense, it can become a source of conversation about what motivates and inspires you and that can lead to spiritual conversations on the way to fulfilling our redemptive calling as Ministers of Reconciliation between people and God and between people and other people.

But did you know that the Ministry of Reconciliation is also worship? Yes, it is a ministry (the word is right there in the title) but it is also worship. It is also imitating God. We often forget that truth.

2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

Did you get that? It isn’t just Christ reconciling us to God but God reconciling the world to himself in Christ. The focus is on God the Father not Christ the Son. We sin against God. He forgives us because of the blood of Christ. God wants to be reconciled to us and he does so through the blood of his son.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross because he loved you and me. It may be true but that’s not the real reason he did it. He died on the cross because he loved his Father, because his Father asked him to do so and he chose to obey his Father as the representative of mankind and suffer his wrath as he became sin for us. But this was all about God.

You can get caught up in the fact that God is a Trinity and that they all loved us so much that they made it happen and that would be true to an extent, but they had different roles and different immediate motivations. Jesus was acting as the substitute for Adam. He was the new Adam, representing mankind before an angry God and willing to take his wrath upon himself. In that moment, as a human, representing humans, Jesus chose obedience over fellowship although it was difficult for him.

The strength of his love for his Father was measured in obedience not in songs and fellowship dinners and wonderful preaching from the pulpit. We would do well to imitate Christ in that regard.

But for now, we are talking about imitating God the Father who is reconciling the world to himself through Christ. We have been talking about the fact that God asks us to forgive others only through the blood of Christ which is the only price that is high enough to pay for the sins we commit against Him and each other. That is the first step. We would do well to imitate God in how and why he forgives us.

But there is a second step that is equally if not more important.

You would think that forgiveness should always lead to reconciliation. And it should. In a perfect world, it would. Before the throne of God on the last day, it will. But right now, today, it may or may not, depending on whether we will imitate God.

When it comes to reconciliation, God asks us a second question. Do you remember the first question that is the basis for forgiveness? Will you accept the blood of Christ as sufficient payment for this sin against you? (The answer is Yes). Then there is a second question that most of us don’t even think about. We tend to go round and round in a whirlpool of forgiveness, trying to forget, feeling the anger and hurt again and then trying to forgive again. In fact, some people feel that you should forgive but not necessarily forget. They couldn’t be farther from the truth.

God forgives and forgets. And if you think that is easy for him, forget it. You don’t get it. God suffers every day from our senseless sin and endless spite and hurt towards each other and him, even in the church. Anyone involved in church work, especially Pastors, can tell you what it's like. It’s enough to drive a number of otherwise good pastors to find work elsewhere. That’s because they haven’t yet understood and practiced the imitation of God in the process of reconciliation.

That second question is a hard one, perhaps harder than the first. God also asks us whether we are willing to treat the ones we have just forgiven as they are in Christ and not as they are in the flesh. Whether they admit their wrong or not, whether they are contrite or not, whether they continue to sin against you or not, will you treat them as they are in Christ and not as they are in the flesh, even though they continue to hurt you in the flesh.

That’s what God does.

We continue to sin, sometimes the same sin over and over again. And he forgives it over and over again but, in addition, he sees us and treats us as we are in Christ because of two truths that cannot be denied.

The first is found in Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) which encourages us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” The second is found in Ephesians 5:26,27 (NIV) where Paul tells us that Jesus will make us “holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

This is an eschatological truth.

What that means is that God will do what he says he will do and Jesus is no different. If we are to be presented without spot or blemish on the final day, then that truth is something we can count on today. If we are to receive the righteousness of Christ that saves us from the wrath of God on that final day, then that truth is something we can count on today, live out today, act on today. That is the power of the promise of God that will be completed in the future but is powerful to change people and transform them today.

And that is what God does for us. He sees us and treats us as we are in Christ and as we will be on the final day. He takes the work of Christ seriously. That doesn’t mean that he is unaware of our sin, our failings, our betrayals, our downfalls. Of course, he is and he forgives each and every one of them as well. But he treats us as his children, redeemed already, although still struggling with sin, but with the guarantee of Christ that the work will be completed, and his promise fulfilled. God is counting on that and so he can see us and treat us as we are in Christ.

In fact, we would be wise to see ourselves that same way. As we are in Christ. There is no more Bertie Amsing. I have a new name and that name is “in Christ.” It may sound a bit weird, and I probably wouldn’t introduce myself to a stranger using it but it describes my condition as a new creation in Christ. Bertie “in Christ” Amsing is my name. Glad to meet you. The Bertie without Christ is an idiot and doesn’t exist anymore. He tries to show up once in a while, but I have a restraining order out on him. There is only this new person, with a new character, and a new name who is “in Christ.” And I have the guarantee of the Holy Spirit within that that situation will never change. In fact, it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes me a new creation “in Christ.” I literally can’t go to hell because then hell would become heaven because Jesus would be there with me.

So, there you have it. God treats us as we are in Christ even though we still act as if we are in the flesh. In fact, the words “in the flesh” are often used wrongly to indicate a temporary carnality or sinful attitude of an otherwise Christian person. Paul uses it to indicate people who are not Christians in the first place, at all, but we all have gotten into a bad habit of using it wrongly.

As a Christian, I am married to Christ. I am no longer single. I can try to act single and flirt with evil, but I am not single (meaning “in the flesh”). Rather, I am married. I have a relationship that I am betraying and am no acting according to who I truly am. So, it is better to be more accurate and say that we are Christians who are grieving the Spirit rather than walking in the flesh. It is more relational and closer to the truth of who we are in Christ.

So, the question still stands. You have forgiven someone. Will you now treat them as they are in Christ and not as they are when they grieve the Spirit (which may have almost become a lifestyle for some believers)? It’s not easy. It isn’t forgiving and forgetting but rather forgiving and remembering who they really are and treating them accordingly.

Not easy if they are still resentful, still hurting you, still dragging your name through the mud, and giving you an all-around hard time. But that’s what God goes through every day for you. Imitate him. That is the purest form of worship.

And do it for those you have forgiven and those you have not. But most of all, do it for yourself. Treat yourself as you are in Christ, even when you grieve the Spirit. You are married after all. Act like it. Get your act together and follow him. Be a true disciple and pay the cost but when you screw up (and you will), forgive yourself on the basis of the blood of Christ and then treat yourself as you are in Christ. Or don’t you believe that he can do what he says and finish what he started?

That makes the ministry of reconciliation a key ingredient in worship just like forgiveness and all of our creational gifts and abilities. And it is a worship in spirit and truth. In Spirit because you wouldn’t even be interested in trying to do it if you didn’t have the Holy Spirit within you and you need his help to do it in the first place. In truth because it is based on the deepest and most profound truth of the scriptures, the cross of Christ.

One final word that may be of interest to you.

This true worship of obedience that Jesus started, and we follow in this ministry of reconciliation based on confession, repentance, and forgiveness is a powerful combination. Some of it you can do on your own and some of it you can’t.

When you forgive someone and reconcile with them and treat them as they are in Christ it is a witness to them of the transformation within you. That is already powerful. It gives you authority in prayer for that person which we talked about in the previous post but there is one more thing that God gives us when we imitate Him in this ministry of reconciliation and that is anointing.

In Psalm 133 we are told “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”

I wrote an entire book on the power of spiritual unity called Seeking Jerusalem based on this verse (and others). It is an amazing truth that God anoints his people when there is spiritual unity among them and that is only possible when there is true and full reconciliation. Why do I talk about true and full reconciliation?

True reconciliation is something that you can do on your own. You forgive the person without their willingness to forgive you back or deal with the issue in any way. You are on your own. But you still treat them as they are in Christ, living in spiritual peace with everyone so far as it depends on you. That is true reconciliation on your part and there is an anointing that can come on you and your ministry when you practice this kind of reconciliation.

But full reconciliation is even better. That is when both sides forgive and both sides reconcile and do it based on the blood of Christ. That has sparked revivals, changed lives and given good witness. When that happens between two or more people, we are talking about a church-wide reconciliation (where two or three gather in my name) and a church-wide anointing. When the anointing comes, anything can happen (and often does).

God anoints his people when his people walk the way of the cross. It’s that simple. It’s what Jesus did and what he asks all of his disciples to do. Pick up our cross daily and follow him. Crucify our old natures and take on our new natures. Act like we are resurrected people filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Become true disciples. Pay the price and find the joy that only God can give in the midst of suffering for the gospel.

If none of this excites you, then you need to go back to the basics and ask yourself some tough questions about your faith. If it does, then come and join us as we all walk the way of the cross together.

The Desert Warrior