In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them,
and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us (2 Corinthians 5)
and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us (2 Corinthians 5)
Not counting their trespasses against them. These words are important to remember as we seek to live into a life of reconciliation.
In his book, As For Me and My House,Walter Wangerin writes that the most vital attribute of a faithful and lasting marriage is forgiveness. Not love, passion, or shared interests. Forgiveness.
He says that spouses will disappoint each other and even hurt one another. Learning to forgive each other allows couples to move through and beyond difficult times into a place of reconciliation that breeds deeper and greater commitment and love.
As St. Paul writes above, God, in Christ, offers Himself to us in a posture of reconciliation and forgiveness. God forgives the ways we disappoint and hurt God and reconciles the world back to himself. And God does so build a deeper and greater commitment and love between us and God, i.e. God initiates reconciliation in our relationship. God then entrusts that message of reconciliation to us and our relationships with each other.
The model of Christ is the model of discipleship. And this message of reconciliation is made present in the very person of Jesus; his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Our message of reconciliation will embody the life of Jesus in our own lives.
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