HEARTLIGHT(R) Magazine: Special Feature: Our Mediator

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INTRODUCTION by Phil Ware — With strikes in the news, this little excerpt from Chuck Swindoll’s recent book should remind us that the biggest dispute we’ve faced was the presence of our sin in the presence of a holy God. Since we couldn’t hire a mediator who was good enough to win us reconciliation, God sent one himself at great cost. Praise be to our Father for not only being the Almighty Holy God but the Savior who has provided us the Ultimate Mediator!

Our Mediator
by Charles R. Swindoll

me·di·a·tor (mêdê-âter) noun
1. One that mediates, especially one that reconciles differences between disputants.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition is licensed from Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all. (2 Timothy 2:5-6 NRSV)

In a world marked by constant conflict and gross acts of injustice, the role of a mediator is essential. This is especially obvious when disagreements leave open wounds that refuse to heal … when family relationships are fractured … when church congregations are threatened by a split … and particularly when labor and management cannot come to terms with one another, and strife leads to strike. The need for an arbitrator to step in and serve as a mediator between opposing parties is all-important, whether the problem is domestic, religious, or work related.
I remember when I was working my way through school at a machine shop many years ago, the threat of a strike emerged. Mild disagreements led to open conflict. The scene got ugly as both sides stood firm. Ultimately — a strike. I was young and inexperienced in such things. I will never forget how threatening it felt. And the longer everyone waited for the mediator to come and help bridge the gap, the wider the chasm increased between those in the shop and those in the office. Finally an agreement was reached, thanks to the wise and painstaking work of the go-between. Because of his presence, amity replaced enmity. The tensions were relaxed, and the sides were brought together.
Such scenes are familiar not only in a steel mill but also in the airline industry, in a bus driver’s union as well as among hotel personnel or professional athletes. When management and labor can’t get together, there needs to be someone who serves as a go-between.
While watching a baseball game not long ago, the thought dawned on me, That’s the role of the umpire! The umpire is constantly called upon to be a mediator between two opposing teams. It is not uncommon for one side to see the play in a completely different way than the other. And if it weren’t for the mediator, the game would turn to absolute chaos. It’s doubtful that any game would ever end without somebody murdering somebody else!
What is true between opposing parties on this earth is especially true between God and humanity. Why? Stop and think. God is absolutely pure and holy, yet we are so terribly depraved and sinful. Talk about a conflict! The two parties could never come together without a mediator, an arbiter, someone to represent both sides as a go between. A mediator is essential for negotiation, for a drawing together of the opposing sides.
Incredibly, our Mediator didn’t just make things all right with God, he provided us a way to be adopted into the Almighty’s family and to be viewed by God as someone who is a perfect fit into the family!
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation — if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:21-23 NIV)