Reconciliation
As Christians, we are supposed to forgive those who hurt us. But, there is more to it than just forgiving people, we need to reconcile with them. According to the dictionary, reconcile means “to recreate friendly relationships.” While reconciliation can be difficult, not only are we told to do it, in the end, things are so much better.
God wants us to reconcile. In fact, Matthew 5:24 tells us if we are at the altar, and remember that a fellow Christian has something against us, that we should leave our gift in front of the altar, and go find him, and reconcile with them. In God’s eyes, reconciliation is a higher priority than giving Him a gift.
Reconciliation is not always easy. A lot of times, when people hurt us, the last thing that we want to do is to forgive them and “recreate friendly relationships”. Or we might forgive them, and that’s all we’ll ever do with them. It’s hard, but we should give people a second chance. Not only are we told to, but if we hurt someone close to us, and repent, and change our lives, wouldn’t we want a second chance?
Now, sometimes the person we are trying to reconcile with won’t listen to us. In that case, Matthew 18 tells us to bring a one or two witnesses with us, and have them try to speak to the person. If the person ignores them, take it before the church, and if he ignores the church, we are to see the person as a heathen.
Reconciliation can be very difficult, as can forgiveness, but it is necessary, and everyone is better off in the end.
