Does Your Account Balance?

At least once a month, my wife goes through our bank statement to make sure that what the bank says we have left in our account, is in fact what she shows we have in our accounts. That process is called “reconciling,” and it’s a way to verify that our accounts are in agreement. When there is something that doesn’t match up, we have to check with the bank to see how they came up with their balance. In most cases, the bank doesn’t make the mistake; therefore, it’s our fault somewhere. If that’s the case, then changes or exchanges must take place for the reconciliation to be complete.

When it comes to reconciling our spiritual account with God, the "bank" is never wrong! The idea of reconciliation is brought up many ways in several places in scriptures. Christ made right the imbalance in our accounts; by changing and exchanging something to that was wrong. That was sin, in our case.

Jesus told a parable of a Shrewd Money Manager in Luke 16 that outlines a man who misused what he had been entrusted to manage. The manager misused his “authority” to win some friends before he lost his job. That is an example of reconciliation, and an example of an unauthorized change and exchange.

But Jesus did more than just making an exchange on the cross, but He also revealed how we should function on earth better than the law ever could. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” He has the authority to change what needs to be changed and to command what needs to be commanded.

Colossians 1:20 explains that concept and even how He has the authority to do that. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in everything. For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”

Jesus has the authority as the creator of mankind and designer of heaven to determine who is in and who isn’t. But He wants everyone to recognize their imbalance and come to Him in repentance.