Be reconciled

There is a beauty to Gospel founded friendships. This week I saw a social media post of mutual encouragement between two people from widely different backgrounds. Really the fact that they even knew of each other is really a testament to how small technology makes the world. 

And in that one picture of two people of different races, backgrounds, age brackets, and cultural experience was the beauty of the Gospel. The Gospel of reconciliation. When you have nothing in common, in Christ you have everything in common.  We can see each other through the eyes of the Gospel and acknowledge all the beautiful gifts of the Spirit of the other person. We can praise all that they bring to the table. We can gaze upon the reflection of Christ in them.

In a world that feels divided, we need to dwell on reconciliation. We are reconciled.  Reconciled to Christ. We could not have been farther from Christ. And even more than that, we could not have been more hostile to Him. We were separated in every way, Most importantly in our will.  It’s not so much that we were separated from God, but that we were willingly putting ourselves at odds with Him. We did not lean in and request a relationship. We did not realize the error of our ways. We looked upon the God of the universe, in His majestic awe-inspiring state, and shrugged our shoulders in indifference, like disrespectful teenagers.

But God in His infinite mercy and patience, leaned in. He drew us in by the Holy Spirit. He opened our eyes to see. He softened our hearts to repent. He saved us by His righteous right hand… while we were yet sinners.

We have been reconciled.

And yet we live at odds. We live separated and unwilling to to lean in.

We point out our differences. We put our fingers in each other's wounds. And yield mistakes like a weapon.

I see it everywhere. In our society. In our churches. In our homes.

Let us embrace our reconciliation. Let us celebrate our unity with Christ.

And let us extend that to each other. Our unity is what will preach to the world, who feel outside in the first place. The Bible says that those who do not know Christ will know us by our love for one another. 

All over the Gospels, new believers are urged to protect unity at all costs. Even the first disciples, the Apostles, came from extremely different backgrounds but walked in unity of the Gospel. 

Are we pursuing unity? Are we living in light of our reconciliation to the Lord? That doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything. The Spirit will continue to sanctify our understanding even as we are committed to one another in unity. To bearing with one another in love. In speaking truth to each other. In speaking life over each other.

I pray that we heed the call of the Gospel to pursue unity. That the world would truly know us by our love for one another.