Reconciliation

Hey y'all! It is hard to believe it is already mid-July. This summer is flying by. I have written about forgiveness and showing grace in previous posts, but today I have something a bit similar on my heart and that is reconciliation. I am burdened when I look around and see the many relationships within our church body that are broken and in desperate need of repair. We are not of this world, we should (as Christians) look different than the world around us. Why do we struggle so much with this?

Mark has been preaching through Ephesians and I have to admit, I am loving it. God has been stepping on my toes and convicting me of junk in my own heart and this past Sunday was no different. We were in chapter 4:26-27 which states "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." This goes against what we hear and say a lot (especially to our kids) -Don't be angry. I know I have told our kids this before, but right here in the Bible God tells us to be angry. This is not an angry like a hatred towards someone but rather a righteous anger that despises and detests sin. Sin should bother us. We are becoming so oblivious of the sin around us it is scary. We compromise and let things slip and eventually they don't even appear to us as sin anymore. But that a whole different blog post. :)

God tells us to be angry but not sin and then don't let the sun go down on our anger. What does that mean? It means we should quickly address the hurt we cause or is caused to us in a biblical manner. We are to do this in love. Whether we are the one who caused the hurt (Matthew 5:23-25) or someone else sinned against us (Matthew 18:15-17) we are to go to that person and seek reconciliation. Now, hear my heart here. I am not saying every little offense, bad look, snide remark, etc. needs to have some confrontation. The Bible is clear in 1 Corinthians 13:7 "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." and 1 Peter 4:8 also exclaims "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." Love should cover most offenses. I am addressing here the deeper hurts that are not as easily shaken.

So why is it so hard for us to go to someone and seek reconciliation? One word - PRIDE. We feel justified in our hurt and actually like to play the victim (though none would likely admit to that). We would rather hold onto our bitterness and resentment than face a possibly awkward conversation, or heaven forbid - rejection! Maybe we feel silly that it has taken so long for us to realize our fault or more likely, we don't even think we are at fault; so if he/she doesn't like us, then so be it. Guys, this should not be happening. Just as Ephesians says, we are giving an opportunity to the devil when we allow bitterness to take root in our hearts. We make his job easier and we are so much less effective when we are focused on each other and not the enemy.

We need to GET OVER OURSELVES! I know that seems harsh but it is the 100% truth. We are not here for our own pleasures, happiness, and/or purposes. We are here to bring God glory and make Him known. If that isn't your heart's cry, then I suggest you take a deeper look at yourself to see if you are really the Lord's at all. One of the most scariest scriptures to me is found in Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Let that sink in for a moment. There are people in our churches who believe they are saved but are not. Whoa! God is clear in 2 Corinthians 13:5 that were are to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith. Don't overlook this. Please.

I want to urge us to let go of things that are not a big deal. Who knows what was on her mind when she supposedly gave you a bad look? Chances are, she wasn't even thinking about you. :) Let love cover that. The snide remark your friend made that hurt your feelings? Let love cover that. Feeling rejected because you weren't invited to the latest shindig? Assume the best and let love cover that. When something truly hurtful happens (this will differ as we are all at different levels of spiritual maturity) deal with it quickly and with love whether you are at fault or not. Let's not allow the devil a foothold in our lives that makes us less effective for the Lord. Bringing Him glory is what it is all about. Let's focus on that and not ourselves. Till next time. I love you all!

Enjoy this song with me!