Listen to the full message here: Lives Hidden With Chris - Reconciled

We live in a world that seems to thrive on having enemies. Everywhere we turn, someone is telling us who we should hate, who is coming for us, who we must fear. And what’s the expected response? Hate them back. Strike before they strike you. This is the way of the world.

But for those of us who follow Jesus, we are called to be in the world but not of it. We are called to look different—to respond differently.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

“You’ve heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43–44)

Jesus flips the whole thing upside down. The world says hate; Jesus says love. And though that teaching is two thousand years old, we’re still wrestling with it today.

Why? Because many of us have not fully grasped the reality of the Gospel—what Jesus has done for us through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. If we could even begin to understand that reality, it would transform the way we live.

Instead of seeing enemies, we would begin to see neighbors. Instead of fighting, we would begin to love.

But Now… Reconciliation

Paul doesn’t stop there. He gives us the most hope-filled words:

“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.” (Colossians 1:22)

That but changes everything.

We couldn’t reconcile ourselves. Every attempt only dug us deeper into alienation. So God stepped in. In Jesus—fully God, fully human—He lived perfectly, without sin, never entering the spiral. And yet He took on the punishment of separation through His death on the cross.

Why? To reconcile us.

So now, Paul says, this is who you are:

• Holy in God’s sight

• Without blemish

• Free from accusation

This is stunning. Even though we still stumble, even though we know our weaknesses and failures, God sees us as holy and whole. He looks at us as though we had never sinned.

No accusation can stand against us.

Living Reconciled

Paul continues:

“…if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.”(Colossians 1:23)

At first glance, this condition may sound like our salvation depends on our effort. But Paul’s wider argument makes clear: our faith is not something we “gin up” ourselves. If we were alienated and helpless, then reconciliation can only come from God’s initiative.

It is Christ’s faithfulness—not ours—that establishes us in hope. And that hope is sure. Not a wish. Not a maybe. A guaranteed reality.

So Paul’s “if” is not a threat but an invitation: Hold fast to what is already secure in Christ.

From Enemies to Neighbors

If God has reconciled us—once enemies in our own minds, now holy and beloved—then how can we look at others the same way?

We begin to see that no one is truly our enemy. Each person is an image bearer of God, one for whom Christ died and rose again. Even if they see us as enemies, we are called to see them as neighbors.

This is how we live out Jesus’ command to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are freed from the spiral of sin and shame, and we step into a life shaped by grace.

A Question for the Week

Do you really believe what Paul writes here—that in Christ you are holy, without blemish, and free from accusation?

Sit with that question. Wrestle with it. Let it sink deep into your heart. Because when it does, it transforms everything—how you see yourself, how you see God, and how you see every person around you.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, remind us that we are reconciled through Christ. We were once alienated, but now we are holy in your sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Help us to live in this reality, to see others not as enemies but as neighbors, and to walk in the amazing grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.