Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

My bachelor’s degree is a BA in Accounting. My first job out of college was for an engineering company as a cost accountant. This was in the days before computers (okay Boomer!), so all the accounting transactions were done by hand.

The company had approximately 1300 employees who were paid every week. My monthly task was to reconcile the payroll account with the bank account. 1300 employees got four checks each month (pre-direct deposit days – okay Boomer part 2). So, each month I had to reconcile over 5000 checks! There was one month I was $15 off and had a terrible time finding it. I was willing to chip in the $15 to settle it, but my boss thought that was a bad idea!

Bank reconciliation is taking the amount you say YOU have in your account and compare it to what the BANK says is in the account. The most important step in this is to determine what checks had yet to clear the bank. Once those amounts are tabulated, the total is added back to the amount in your books. It all needs to balance.

So when I read this passage from 2 Corinthians, I cannot help but think of those days doing bank reconciliations. Verse 19 “…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” In Christ, God is taking away the costly things we have done and left undone and balancing out our account. Our sins are washed away, and in Christ, all things have become new!

My vision of one being reconciled is one who is lifted to where God wants us to be – complete, whole and worthy of God’s blessings. Made new. The old is passed away. The debt is paid. The check has cleared!

This is done, as we are told so beautifully in verse 21, by what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross. “He became sin who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.” How cool is that? And God did that for our sake. For you and for me. That is amazing, don’t you think?

Today is a new day – everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Rejoice, and be reconciled.

There is nothing better than when things balance.

Let us pray: Thank you, God, for reconciling us to you. Forgiven and set free, may we live today as a new creation in your love. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.