March 18: Be Reconciled to Christ
♫ Music:
Day 34 - Monday, March 18
Title: BE RECONCILED TO CHRIST
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (NKJV)
For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Poetry & Poet:
“Instructions on Not Giving Up”
by Ada Límon
More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me. When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.
BE RECONCILED TO GOD
“Be reconciled to God” is an imperative. How, though, does this reconciliation come about? Paul tells us that we are reconciled because “He who knew no sin became sin for us.” We must not forget that while reconciliation brings peace, it was accomplished by God exchanging his perfect goodness for our totality of evil so that he might “allow us to become the righteousness of God in Him.”
What, then, is left for our participation in this imperative? We, the base, depraved, and repugnant are given status and honor while the Just One is beaten and betrayed. Artist Giotto depicts our participation in his painting, The Crucifixion. We demanded Christ’s crucifixion, stole his clothes, cast lots for them, and wore them in shameless impersonation. But as the hymn recounts, this exchange was intentional: His robes for mine. This is a “wonder[filled] exchange,” but it is a disturbed wonder from looking on an “anguish none can know.”
Paul argues, “if One died for all, then all died.” I cannot help but wonder if we undergo this death when we let go of our prideful disturbance and instead cling to “marvel[ing] at the cost” of this wholly unfair exchange, as the hymn exhorts. For such an act, dying for us, has truly wrapped us up into the overwhelming volume of His righteous robes.
Paul proclaims that with these robes we are “a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Having died to ourselves, we live in his life. What grace! But where is this new life? How does Paul’s proclamation stand against the entropy we experience as our bodies waste away towards death, and as our hearts long for all to be put right while continually failing under the weight and shame of our daily sins?
Ada Límon’s poem, “Instructions on Not Giving Up,” illustrates our participation in this reconciliation: a defiant submission to the “Patient, plodding” of our new life (being formed through and in Christ) like a tree who must accept the drapes of its new “green skin,” which is “growing over whatever winter did to us.” These robes require a “return / to the strange idea of continuous living despite / the mess of us, the hurt, the empty.”
Even while our hearts are described as “the mess of us, the hurt, the empty,” we are still given these holy orders––the cloth––of the ministry of reconciliation to share with others. And it seems crucial that Christ uses His body, the Church, to be the giver and receiver of this imperative––be reconciled to God––not only multiplying His people but strengthening them as well.
That strengthening can ring forth from the meager, small faith of one who utters: “Fine then,” and in acquiescence, “I’ll take it.” After all, in this season of Lent and its need for yearly deep cleansing, are we surprised at the humble beginning of our participation in Christ’s call of reconciliation? While our words might be terse and we feel clunky in his robe, we can learn the true response to this imperative from the image of a tree’s “new slick leaf unfurling like a fist to an open palm,” which shows their response: “I’ll take it all.”
Prayer
Lord, unfurl my fists.
Lord, help me take it all.
Lord, speak your reconciliation through me.
Amen.
Sarah Griffith Howell
Biola Alumna of Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Artist
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
The Crucifixion
Giotto di Bondone (Giotto)
c.1303–c.1305
Fresco
Scrovegni Chapel
Padua, Italy
Italian artist Giotto brought a new sense of realism to his religious images. His interest in humanism saw him explore the tension between biblical iconography and the everyday existence of lay worshippers, bringing them closer to God by making art more relevant to their lived experience. This work is one of the most famous representations of the crucifixion of Jesus and is considered one of the most important works in the history of art. Giotto’s style was fresh as he sought to make his paintings appear realistic with vibrant use of color and figures that he imbued with expressions of pain, anger, fear, mourning, and wonder. Giotto created the appearance of movement and perspective. Here the gaunt figure of the Savior hangs from a cross that rises from a rudimentary rock formation, beneath which a skull can be seen—indicating that this is Golgotha. To Christ’s left, Roman soldiers argue about who shall have which of his clothes as a sorrowful St. Peter looks on. To Christ’s right, there is a gathering of the righteous. Mary is supported by the holy women and comforted by St. John. At Christ’s feet, Mary Magdalene weeps over his bloodied wounds. Her agonies are echoed by the cries of the angels, hovering about the body of Christ in Giotto’s heavy dark-blue sky.
About the Artist:
Born in Florence, artist Giotto di Bondone, known simply as Giotto (c.1267–1337), was the first artist to transform the production of art from a local artisanal craft into a lucrative career. Becoming something of an international celebrity, he was sought after by noble Italian courts and popes alike. He is often appreciated for his innovations in painting. Giotto imbued his figures with personality and tried to give expression to their faces and bearing, as is clearly visible from his major work: the frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (the Arena Chapel). Giotto created unified compositions by finding balance between the figures and their surroundings. Dante proclaimed him larger than Cimabue, the Italian artist considered the most important until then, and probably Giotto's teacher. Few works may be ascribed to him with absolute certainty: a series of frescoes in Padua, some frescoes and altarpieces in the Santa Croce in Florence, and a painting of the Madonna on display in the Uffizi in Florence. Most likely the famous fresco series on the life of Saint Francis in the St. Francis of Assisi Church is by Giotto too.
https://aleteia.org/2020/12/09/how-the-artist-giotto-brought-the-life-of-st-francis-to-the-people/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738529/
About the Music:
“His Robes for Mine” from the album Complete in Thee
Lyrics:
His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise—my all—shall be for Christ alone.
His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?
God’s daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine,
Saved by my Lord’s vicarious death and life.
His robes for mine: God’s justice is appeased.
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father’s pleased.
Christ drank God’s wrath on sin, then cried, “’Tis done!”
Sin’s wage is paid; propitiation won.
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise—my all—shall be for Christ alone.
His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise—my all—shall be for Christ alone. (2x)
Composers:
Chris Anderson (lyrics), Greg Habegger (music), and arranged by Dan Forrest
Chris Anderson served as a church planter and pastor for twenty-five years before pivoting to full-time missions. Currently, Chris travels as senior VP for global opportunities with Biblical Ministries Worldwide, preaching, teaching, recruiting, and championing the cause of the Great Commission wherever and however he can. He’s written more than thirty hymns, including “His Robes for Mine,” “I Run to Christ,” “My Jesus, Fair,” and “Reformation Hymn.” Anderson is the lead editor and a contributing author of the Gospel Meditations devotional series, and he recently published his third book, entitled Theology That Sticks: The Life-Changing Power of Exceptional Hymns.
https://www.churchworksmedia.com/chris-anderson/
Greg Habegger is minister of music and associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Effingham, Illinois. Habegger is a seasoned music leader and conductor, having worked with numerous church and school choirs over the years. He is also an accomplished pianist. As a composer, Greg has the vast majority of tune credits in CWM’s song catalog, including “His Robes for Mine,” “I Run to Christ,” “My Jesus, Fair,” and “How Dark the Night.”
https://www.churchworksmedia.com/greg-habegger/
Dan Forrest (b. 1978) is an American composer, pianist, educator, and music editor. He majored in piano at Bob Jones University, earning a B.Mus. and an M.Mus. in piano performance as well as studying advanced theory and composition. Forrest's compositions include choral, instrumental, orchestral, and wind band works. His published works have sold millions of copies worldwide. Perhaps Forrest's best-known work is Requiem for the Living (2013), which has seen several hundred performances worldwide. His other major works, Jubilate Deo (2016) and LUX: The Dawn from On High (2018), have also been widely performed. Forrest taught music theory and composition at the University of Kansas as a graduate assistant from 2004 to 2007, and at Bob Jones University from 2007 to 2012, where he served as chairman of the department of music theory and composition. He now serves as co-editor at Beckenhorst Press; regularly teaches composition lessons and masterclasses; and speaks about composing, music-making, aesthetics, music publishing, and the music business in guest-artist residencies with universities and choirs in the United States and abroad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Forrest
https://danforrest.com/
About the Performers:
The Bob Jones University Chorale and Orchestra
The Bob Jones University Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Warren Cook, comprises both undergraduate and graduate students. The Chorale performs regularly on campus in full-length concerts as well as oratorio and opera productions. The Chorale also tours regularly, performing community concerts, conducting school music festivals, and singing for churches and Christian schools.
https://www.bju.edu/events/fine-arts/concerts.php
About the Poetry and Poet:
Ada Limón is an American poet with six books of poetry to her credit, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her book Bright Dead Things was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her most recent book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and wrote the poem that will be engraved on NASA's Europa Clipper Spacecraft that will be launched to the second moon of Jupiter in October 2024. As the twenty-fourth poet laureate of the United States, her signature project is called You Are Here and focuses on how poetry can help connect us to the natural world.
https://www.adalimon.net/about
About the Devotion Writer:
Sarah Griffith Howell
Biola Alumna of Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Artist
Sarah Griffith Howell is a Biola Alum and Torrey Honors College Perpetual Member. She is a fine artist (sfghowell.com), an educator, and the managing editor for the Anselm Society (anselmsociety.org). Her and her husband, Aaron, live in Boston, Massachusetts with their newborn baby girl, Alina Jane.