Read: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Here is 2 Corinthians 5:20b, times three versions. Circle the words that jump out at you:

One: We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (NIV)

Two: We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (RSV)

Now, three. This one makes my heart leap, then ache:

We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God, he’s already a friend with you. (Msg)

Reconcile: In Christ, we are restored to right relationship with God. God is the reconciler, we are the beneficiaries.

Is there anything more intertwined with hope than this idea of reconciliation? We hope for relationships to be reconciled. We hope our statement reconciles with the bank! Sometimes we cannot accept something — cannot reconcile it with what is good and just — and hope for change.

Did you happen to circle either of the ‘begging’ words in the verses above? Implore. Beseech. In other places, this same word is translated as urge, beg, encourage, and plead. God’s heart sounds very desperate here – God so desires that we have real hope (not as the world gives) and pleads with us to accept his friendship. We are reconciled because God really, really wants us. He doesn’t begrudge the effort. You are wanted, beloved.

Lord, today we see that you hope. You hope that people will not put you off any longer. We pause to thank you for Jesus, who makes this possible and for the Spirit who pleads with our spirits to accept. We pause to consider how you pursue us and so desire things to be right between us. Please keep calling to those who resist: neighbors, family, ourselves. You have readied the path, help us to walk in it. Amen.
-Nicole Smith