Christian reconciliation - What is it? Why do we need to be reconciled to God?

TL;DR:

Christian reconciliation restores our broken relationship with God, turning us from enemies into friends through Christ. Reconciliation brings forgiveness, peace, and the opportunity to live in harmony with God and others.

what does the bible say?

To reconcile is to make right or to harmonize. Reconciliation involves different parties coming to the same position, and it always involves change. Obviously, if enemies are to be reconciled, there must be some kind of change, or friendship will be impossible. Christian reconciliation restores the broken relationship between humanity and God, which was fractured by sin and rebellion. Unlike us, God does not need to change, but He initiates reconciliation through Christ, taking the first step to bring us back to Himself. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, believers receive forgiveness, are transformed, and are presented holy and blameless before God. Reconciliation with God brings peace, turning former enemies into friends and allowing believers to enjoy fellowship with Him. It also extends to relationships with others, breaking down barriers and creating unity within the body of Christ. God’s pursuit of reconciliation mirrors His faithful love, showing that He actively restores what was broken. Christian reconciliation invites us to live in harmony with God and others, pursuing peace and restored relationships with and through Christ.

from the old testament

Christian reconciliation is the idea of being made right with God. Our relationship with God was broken through no fault of God's. It was we who ran away from God, not vice versa (Genesis 3:8).

from the new testament

God is perfect and we are not (Romans 3:23). He does not need to change, make concessions, or find some middle ground of cooperation with us. We are the ones that need changing.
Because of our sin, we were actually the enemies of God (Romans 5:10).
Amazingly, Christ took the first step to reconcile us to Himself. "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). God wanted us to be reconciled. He knew we could not solve our sin problem ourselves. So He provided a way for us to be made right with Him through Christ.
Believers have their sins forgiven, a necessary step in reconciliation with God. Colossians 1:21-22 says, "You, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him." We are no longer "alienated;" we are now forgiven, transformed, and reconciled. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can have fellowship with God.

implications for today

Those who trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins are reconciled to Him. Now, rather than seeing us as enemies, Christ calls us "friends" (John 15:15). Jesus is our peace; He is our mediator who makes us right with God. "Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

Not only do we enjoy peace with God as a result of Christ's sacrifice, we also have peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Varied backgrounds, natural antagonisms, old grudges—none of it matters to those who have been born again. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Ephesians 2:14-16 emphasizes the reconciliation that God has established between Jews and Gentiles: "For he himself is our peace . . . that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."

"Blessed are the peacemakers," Jesus said, and He should know (Matthew 5:9). Jesus made a way to exchange our sinful, broken lives for forgiven, connected lives. He replaced the enmity with intimacy. Just as Hosea pursued his unfaithful wife and restored her to a proper relationship (Hosea 3), God has pursued us and sought reconciliation. "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love" (Song of Solomon 2:4).

understand

Reconciliation restores our relationship with God through Christ.
Believers receive forgiveness, transformation, and peace when they are reconciled to God.
Reconciliation calls us to reflect God’s love and pursue restoration with others.

reflect

How have you personally experienced God’s reconciliation in your life, and how has it changed your relationship with Him?
Are there areas in your life or relationships where you need to pursue reconciliation, reflecting the peace and restoration God offers?
How does knowing that Christ has already reconciled you to God influence the way you live in relation to others?

engage

How can we help each other experience and extend reconciliation to others even when it is difficult?
How does God’s initiative in reconciling us challenge common ideas about earning forgiveness or peace?
What lessons from biblical examples of reconciliation can guide how we restore broken relationships today?