Reconciliation
by Brandy Webb
There is a lot of need for reconciliation in the world today. It seems that 99 percent of the news is about groups of people who can’t stand each other, and it is not just an American problem. I know that without Christ’s return, this problem will continue, but it is sad to see. Hatred creates more hatred. No one likes it when someone disagrees with them, but instead of debating differences, people just seem to yell at each other and call each other names. It is like watching three-year-olds throwing a temper tantrum when they don’t get their way; however, unfortunately, instead of three-year-olds they’re grown adults. Yet, as I said already, in the world these things will continue because this is Satan’s world (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Nonetheless, sometimes this weed of animosity of another human being starts to grow within God’s body, which should not happen. We are set apart (1 Peter 2:9). We are not to act like the world around us; yet, sometimes we do. I am speaking to myself here, also. We have divisions, gossip, friendships destroyed over trivial things, etc., and the reason for this is because we are human. Even so, that is a lame excuse. We have Christ now with us, and His Spirit is in us. Therefore, we are held to a much higher standard than those who don’t.
To walk in Christ requires a lot of humility, and sometimes even silence. When I say silence, I mean knowing when to speak up and when not to. Here are just a couple of examples from many in God’s Word to show the wisdom of holding one’s tongue:
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 11:12)
He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;
When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent (Proverbs 17:27-28).
Humility requires us to walk as Christ did. One thing He tells us in Matthew 5:23-24 is, “…if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” I know that we don’t have Temple offerings anymore. However, this scripture is still applicable to us today. To me, this is applying to whenever we go to worship God if we remember that one of our fellow believers has something against us, stop, and be reconciled first. What I noticed for the first time recently is that it doesn’t state who actually did the wrong. I used to think it was if you realized that you wronged your brother; however, it just states if your brother has something against you. It doesn’t say if you sinned against your brother. Therefore, to me, there is a deeper meaning to this scripture—it doesn’t matter who is right and who is wrong. What matters is, if we realize that someone may have been offended by something we said or did or fill-in-the blank, we must go to them and be reconciled or at least try to be reconciled. We may have not intended to offend, but once we know that somehow we created an offense against our brother or sister, we have a duty to try to reconcile with them. And it doesn’t matter who is in the right.
Christ was right, virtuous, and without sin, yet “while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). He even asked God to forgive His crucifiers (Luke 23:34). There is an old saying that goes something like this: forgiveness is not for the person you are forgiving but for a release within your own soul. It is a healing balm. Reconciliation can be the beginning of a healing within God’s body that can help it to move in a more unified way.