Reconciliation: end of conflict, restoration of friendly relations, reunion, bringing together (again), restoration of peace...
This blog series about reconciliation turned out to be a little bit longer than I intended it to be. And even then I barely scratched the surface of this interesting topic. There is so much to learn and read and do and write about it :)
Reconciliation simply means 'restored relationship' and that is the foundation of the Christian faith.
Reconciliation simply means 'restored relationship' and that is the foundation of the Christian faith.
It shows the heart of God: He desires HEALTHY relationships on various levels: Reconciliation between Him and mankind, between Him and Israel, between Jewish people and Gentiles and.... between you and me and the people around us!
God desires friendship with all people. An important Scripture about the heart of God in this can be found in Colossians 1:19-20, For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [that is Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
That is good news. God is not mad at mankind, He reconciled all things to Himself and made peace. The problem is that we are the ones who often refuse to take His kindness as an example. We often hang on to bitterness, anger, jealousy, hatred, slander and gossip. God does not want this. He loves mankind and He wants us to love one another and to live in peace.
Romans 12:18 says: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Is that easy? Nope! Should we try? Yep.
It is not an option. We have received the assignment to tell others about the possibilities of reconciliation and we should desire to restore relationships, wherever we go. Corinthians 5:18-20 says it like this: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We all have the ministry, this message, of reconciliation which, by the way, does NOT mean that we should only TALK about restored relationships... of course we must ACT this out as well, on a personal level.
Would the world look different if we did so, what do you think?
Is there a relationship that you could mend?
I say YES to reconciliation. I say YEs to peace. I say YES to love and respect. But what happens when other turn against YOU...(me) and don't WANT what you (or I) want? I do turn the other cheek, I do try to understand....and fail! How can people NOT WANT peace? It baffles me. Thank you Marja, this is a great read.
ReplyDeleteHow can people NOT want peace? That's a good question Anita... I do not have an answer though!
DeleteI believe people would seek to understand others more rather than judge and insist on being right, when restored relationships become a focus. I do have a couple of relationships in my life that I would like to see reconciled, and God is working within me to develop the 'fruits of the spirit' to help me navigate this road His way, not mine!
ReplyDeleteSo true Lynn, insisting on being right does not help... most of the time. His way, not ours! Thanks for commenting.
DeleteExcellent reminder, thank you! I think a different world starts with each one of us on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteKaren, a different world is kind of hard to imagine, but I believe we can...
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