For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

I like to watch a lot of movies about historical knights and armies, battles and kingdoms, to learn what life was like in a different age and to gain some wisdom.

Knights were the defenders of the kingdom back then. They were the fiercest warriors and they represented the battle plan braintrust. The lord of the land (and on a greater scale the king) relied on these knights to strategically defend the city or country.

One interesting thing about knights was their “crest”. It was similar to a logo a company might have today, but with some deeper meanings. This crest would be handed down through generations. It represented the royal family, and ultimately - the king. The knight wore it proudly and fought to preserve it. They, many times, would sacrifice their lives for the things this crest stood for.

As I think about a crest, this type of loyalty and devotion is what Paul talks about here. When Jesus died, those who followed him also spiritually died to themselves - their pleasures, wants, desires, lusts, and priorities all died. And they were reborn into a kingdom where Jesus Christ is the King! He is the Lord of all!

God brought us back from death in our sin to reconcile us to him. And he also gave us a ministry, the ministry of reconciliation. Reconciliation is the final stage of repairing a relationship. We identify the depth of our sin and its horrible impact, repent and/or forgive, and then hopefully, reconcile. Reconciliation is a coming back to closeness together. It requires both parties to invest in the relationship again.

And so as I am reconciled to God, he calls me to reconcile others to him as well, by his power. I am to appeal to them, like an ambassador appeals to the leader of a foreign country for benefits, trade, and protection. It is an appeal to trust and all to act on that trust.

So our spiritual crest, our identity, is found in the closeness, through reconciliation, that we have to God the Father. We belong to him. We are, as the I Peter passage says, his priesthood, his people, his nation, and his special possession. We are called to proclaim his praises like an ambassador. We are called to be light bearers in the darkness. And even moreso, light bearers who were once dark, but have been redeemed and reconciled to the King.

We light the way, we lead and model the life, we encourage and rebuke at times, all to bring more people into the kingdom of goodness, God’s Kingdom. And we support each other in this dark world as we serve God and see him work in extraordinary ways!

Lord, thank you for redeeming me and reconciling me to yourself. You have made me a light bearer in a dark world. Help me to rely on your strength, encouragement, and your people to stand strong in my faith. And, to actively do the hard work of rescuing others.