Reconcile!

Reconciliation Josefina de Vasconcellos

"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

From 2 Corinthians 5 (ESV)

"Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."

From 2 Corinthians 13 (ESV)

Before I became a Christian, I was content to live without reconciliation. I talked myself into justifying my own sins against God and others. I could speak harshly about my various offenders and hold their sins against me against them for as long as I desired. I could build up bitterness inside and bash my enemies or lash out at any given time without caring about the consequences. Underneath it all, I was miserable yet unchanged by that misery.

Now, things have changed. Since God took my heart captive, I cannot act this way without immediate and, oftentimes, serious consequences. As a new creation, He pursues my wandering heart when I start holding others' sins against them and reminds me that He does not hold my sins against me. He implores me, through Paul, that I must be reconciled to Him and others on behalf of Christ.

The difficult truth of reconciliation with others is that it is not always possible on both sides. When other people don't want to reconcile, we must still "aim for restoration" even if it seems impossible. We must aim for peace, at the least, on our side.

Another difficult truth is that reconciliation proves harder than one might think. When choosing to reconcile, Christians must make choices daily to continue to live in reconciliation rather than fall back into the sins of bitterness and hatred. We don't just chose to reconcile and then everything becomes peachy. We choose to reconcile in spite of the circumstances we face daily. As ambassadors for Christ, we must desire reconciliation more than anything. We must not live like non-Christians and hold grudges. Satan wants Christians to mirror his ways, not Christ's. I fear Satan wins this battle in many Christians' hearts too often.

The best part about reconciliation, to me, is its beauty. How beautiful are those who humbly seek reconciliation! Reconciling with God is like nothing else we can experience on earth. A close second is reconciliation with others. Hugging an offender, forgiving sins, having your own sins forgiven, and crying out of repentance and joy all reveal a beautiful picture of God's grace and mercy in our lives. 

Reconciliation is a choice Christians must make daily in our relationships with God, family, and others. Is there someone who comes to mind as you read this? Will you aim to reconcile with him/her? It's not easy, not always two-sided, or not a one time thing, you know, but it's always God-pleasing and heart-changing. Most important of all, it's the ministry given to us as ambassadors for Christ.