Lesson 4: Reconciled
 
 Have you ever had a disagreement with someone you loved, and the disagreement kept you from talking to this person for a while? Then, finally, the two of you got back together, worked out your disagreement, and your relationship was restored to what you had before –- or maybe even better than before. You were reconciled to the person you loved.

Before we accepted the gift of salvation, we were separated from God. We could not come back to Him – not because He hated us, but because our sin made us unclean and God’s holiness is so pure simply coming near Him would destroy us. It’s kind of like a dark shadow trying to enter a room of glass on a sunny day – the sun doesn’t “hate” the darkness as we think of hate, but it will destroy the dark shadow simply because of what the sun IS – bright light.

Romans 5:8-10 says God made reconciliation possible while we were still sinners. But just because the reconciliation was possible doesn’t mean we can enter God’s presence without His solution – the blood of Jesus Christ. Only Christ’s death for us can stand between us and Holy God to keep us from being destroyed – kind of like the shadow being put into a box and the box set into the sunny room, but the shadow must be IN the box to not be destroyed. So when we are IN Christ – we have accepted His gift of salvation – we can also enter God’s presence. God has reconciled us to Himself so we can be His child.