Brethren, the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross is about Reconciliation. Paul says in Colossians 1:19-23 that the heart of the gospel is the message of reconciliation.
Prior to our salvation in Christ, we were alienated from God, hostile to Him in our minds. We rejected the truth as foolishness, and we were a law unto ourselves. Our pleasure, entertainment, and personal satisfaction were all that mattered to us. Paul says that we lived to engage in evil deeds (Col 1:21). To make matters worse we were born into a world full of spiritual darkness (Col 1:13).
Yet, now we have been reconciled to God through the sacrificial death of Jesus on a cross. It is Christ’s death that served as a propitiation for our sins, satisfying the wrath of God that we so rightly deserved. Our guilt was expiated by the self sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Paul says faith in Christ brings us peace with God (Col 1:23), and reconciles us with our Creator. We now are no longer condemned by our sin to an eternity on God’s judgement, but rather we now have eternal life in Christ.
Brethren, as we think upon these realities let us give thanks to God by demonstrating that we are in fact His people. Christ’s goal in saving you is to present you holy and blameless to the Father (Col 1:22). Let us live lives of obedience to God’s word, rejecting the old life that we once lived (Col 3:5-7). Let us love our fellow believers as well (Col 3:8-17). We should live humbly and patiently with each other, knowing that we are not perfect; but rather we are maturing in Christlikeness. Reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel, peace with God and peace with each other.