The Power of Restoration: Embracing Unity and Love in the Shadow of the Cross
Ezekiel 16; 2 Corinthians 13; Psalm 21
Guest Post: Patty Bellingham
Are you excited, fellow Christians? Let’s get excited! This is Holy Week!
I love Phil Wickham’s song, “Sunday Is Coming.” There is a line in it that says, “Friday’s good ’cause Sunday is comin’.” For myself, as I re-read the account of our dear Lord Jesus’s last days leading up to His crucifixion, I would just as soon skip Friday, such a hard day, ugh. But I have to remind myself, Sunday is coming! Because of Friday, what Christ and the Father did for us, we see the heart of God toward His Son and His children.
In the Gospel of John, we read about Christ’s sacrifice, His final days with His disciples, His final prayer in Gethsemane. This very special prayer expresses Christ’s desire. His heart was to give the Father glory and to restore the relationship that was lost in the original garden. The relationship, that is, between God and His creation, to restore the lost fellowship.
I want to quickly take a look at a few of the verses in John, I promise you, it does connect with our reading for today. After all, it’s all about Jesus!
Let’s first read John 17:21-23: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.”
John 17:26: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Wow! So beautiful. The Father and the Son’s desire is for us to be so close to Him that we are all one, complete love, complete unity.
Okay, on with Corinthians.
As we look at the final chapter of 2 Corinthians, we see Paul is both encouraged that his first letter brought repentance to some in the church at Corinth and frustrated that some have not repented. He also finds himself defending his gentle-humble method of ministry. The Corinthians saw Paul as weak and that his motives for ministry may have been suspect.
Paul was in good company. Christ was also considered ‘suspect’ by the Jewish leadership. Christ Jesus was also, in His humanness, weak as He hung on the cross. The abuse on that horrible Friday was horrific. He hung there because of His great love for us and His obedience to the Father. And yet, He lives by God’s power, as Paul tells us in verse 4, “For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God…”
Friends, He came as a lamb to the slaughter, meek and weak, but He is the Lion of Judah. He will rule with an iron rod, everything has been placed under His feet, and He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He has ALL power! We need to tremble at the very thought of His awesomeness.
Paul says in verse 3, “He (Christ Jesus) is not weak in dealing with you but is powerful among you.”
Yes, God is love, but He is also just. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; . . .” (Ps. 111:10)
Dear ones, we should tremble.
Verse 5 finds Paul asking the Corinthian fellowship to examine and test themselves. Are you in the faith? We should ask this of ourselves.
Proverbs 16:2 states, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed (examined) by the Lord.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to examine you – and show you the motives of your heart. A few ideas:
- Where am I with you, God? Am I pressing in or pulling back?
- Is there sin from which I need to repent?
- How is my covenant relationship with you, God? As the bride of Christ, am I solely set aside for Him?
- Am I a house of worship and a house of prayer for the Lord?
Then Paul talks about truth. Paul in verse 8 said, “For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.”
“Truth, what is truth?” Pilate asked this of Christ.
When Pilate asked what is truth, do you suppose the culture of everyone’s own truth was also present in those days? Possibly, as Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun.” The TRUTH is, there is one way to eternal life, and that is The Way. Christ alone is The Way. If only Pilate had asked a few more questions, he would have known that the answer to his question was standing right in front of him.
We come now to Paul’s closing words to the Corinthians. In verse 9, Paul said, “Your restoration is what we pray for.”
Paul wants to encourage them to function in unity with one another and with God. Togetherness: logs in a fire burn hotter and continue burning when they are together; separate a log out and the fire in the one log will die out. Dear ones, if you are not attending a local gathering of believers, you need to find one; don’t let the fire go out.
In our daily reading, we are also in the book of Ezekiel, Chapter 16 today. The Lord is dealing with a wayward bride. When the Lord found her, she was despised and cast aside. He provided for her in every way, purified her, washed her with water, and anointed her with oil. He covered her with His garment and made a covenant, a pledge, to the bride. As His bride, he clothed her with such beauty, she became famous among the nations.
But the bride went after other lovers; she forgot where her beauty came from. It came from the One who loved her. There was a division between the bride and the groom. Still, the Lord God said to the bride, “Yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.” (vs. 60).
Praise God! He does not abandon us. Christ continued in that covenant, the promise made in Eden, and fulfilled in Christ as He hung on the cross and bore our sins. He redeemed us.
Paul says in verse 11, “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Restoration, comfort, agreement, peace, love. Because of Christ, we have all these things through the Holy Spirit in us. Now that is beauty, the true beauty given to us from God.
Paul’s desire for the Corinthians is our Lord’s desire for us. As the Lord prayed, “I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought to complete unity.”
Christ has made our complete restoration possible. Let’s celebrate! “Friday’s good ’cause Sunday is comin’.”
Prayer: Holy, Holy, Father. King of Kings, Lord of Lords, praise to your name. Thank you for the ministry of reconciliation that you brought to us through our Great High Priest, the sacrificial Lamb, the Son of God, Son of Man, Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit examine me, be gentle with me, for I am frail. Even so, examine me. Show me my sin so that I may repent and draw near, near, near to you. I want no division between us. I want nothing to come between us. Therefore, examine me. Make your heart, my heart, and your people my people, a love that is complete and everlasting. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Deepening Faith: Reflective Journal Prompts
- Reflecting on Sacrifice and Restoration: As you think about Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection, what does “Friday’s good ’cause Sunday is comin'” mean to you personally? How does this perspective change the way you view challenges and hardships in your own life?
- Unity with God and Others: Inspired by John 17:21-23, how can you foster deeper unity with God and with fellow believers? Reflect on specific actions you can take to promote this unity in your community.
- Examining Your Faith: Following Paul’s advice in 2 Corinthians 13:5, take time to examine your faith. Ask yourself: “Am I in the faith? Are there areas in my life where I’m pulling back from God?”
- The Motives of Your Heart: Proverbs 16:2 challenges us to consider the purity of our motives. Reflect on the motives behind your recent decisions. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas where your motives may not align with God’s will.
- Living in Restoration, Comfort, and Peace: Reflecting on Paul’s closing words in 2 Corinthians 13:11, how can you aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, and live in peace? Consider practical steps you can take to apply these principles in your relationships.
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