When Christians fall out, you’d hope they would be good at putting things back together. Reconciliation ought to be one of our strong suits.
Our God not only ‘reconciled us to Himself through Christ’, He also ‘gave us the ministry of reconciliation’ (2 Cor. 5:18). As ambassadors for Christ, we are to implore others: ‘be reconciled to God’ (2 Cor. 5:20). Our interpersonal relationships ought to reflect that.
Yet instead of being renowned for a readiness to forgive, and warm reconciliations, Christians often seem better known for the intensity of their disputes and the bitterness of their divisions. We probably know people in our churches who avoid each other because some historical spat has never been resolved; some bitterness never rooted out. As James might put it: ‘My brothers and sisters, this should not be’ (James 3:10). As we try to become better reconcilers, three principles may help.
Truth matters
It was of course Pontius Pilate who famously asked: “What is truth?”Many centuries later, Hannah Arendt, in her famous …