The harmony we want is the harmony we seek.
Reconciliation is purely a conception from the heart and mind of God.
Of all the pieces of Christianity that need illustration and explanation, it is one of the hardest to bring forth.
Mainly because it is such a personal subject for any of us to deal with.
I have a hard time focusing in some of my classes when counseling is the subject.
We discuss issues of personal struggle and inner deviation and my mind wanders.
Usually because the whole thing brings to surface some issue or matter that I personally am struggling with.
When the issue of reconciliation comes out in today's scripture passage, I'm willing to bet many of us will get sidelined with some issue from our own families and friendships that will make it hard for us to hear the message of what God has done for us.
But, there in also lies the beauty of it.
If we can work through the issues, we can see what God has done.
It all begins with God.
Colossians 1:19-23
New International Version (NIV)
My mother-in-law is one of the toughest people I know.
She can also be stubborn.
She has a terrible time making decisions.
And, she has no problem telling you what is on her mind.
So, several years back when her father and she had some words about some personal matters, it was outsville.
Several years went by without contact or word.
A random Christmas card, usually made out by her mom.
Just one phone call in twelve years, also called in by her mom.
Other than that - silence.
It can be tremendously hard when someone close to you acts as if they want nothing to do with you.
In the matter of ourselves and God, the issue was, as Paul would put it, "our evil behavior" that kept us from having a constant and regular relationship.
It happens on a human level.
It happens on a spiritual level.
Separation and alienation are real matters that can be over come.
The point is, do we want to over come them?
First, lets take a look at what Webster's has to say.
Definition of RECONCILE
transitive verb
1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony
b : settle, resolve
2: to make consistent or congruous
3: to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant
4 a : to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy
b : to account for
OH, there's that transitive verb thing again.
You might remember me explaining transitive back in an earlier blog post.
There might be harmony between you and one party.
And, there might be harmony between that party and the next party.
SO, there should also be harmony between you and the next party.
Harmony can be transfered between all parties involved.
Unless there is an intransitive part to all this.
intransitive verb
: to become reconciled
Ah. See, the work is not always transferable.
Something needs to be done in order to make those parties reconciled.
In his book, Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado references the meeting in the Upper Room.
He talks about all that Jesus would have had to put up with in dealing with those twelve men, his disciples.
Nobody knows what it was like to be hurt by those closest to himself than Jesus.
He could have lashed out at them.
He could have chewed them out real good for their lack of faith.
It's easy to get bent out of shape when you think people should understand something that seems so simple to you, but they just don't seem to get it.
Jesus is in the perfect position for this.
But, instead of doing any of that, he takes a towel and a bowl of water and begins to wash their feet.
Peter doesn't get it.
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” (John 13.8)
Long before they had done anything wrong, Jesus makes sure they are cleansed of any wrong doing.
“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
What Paul writes about in Galatians takes the same tone.
Reconciliation is God's plan, not ours.
"For God was pleased....to reconcile to himself all things..."
God didn't ask first if it was alright with us before He set the plans in motion.
He just did it.
Jesus didn't wait for the disciples to 'get it' before he cleansed them and forgave them.
He does it before we even know we need it.
Lucado would say it like this,
And, by all accounts, He should have hung us out to dry.
But, He didn't.
I asked my mother-in-law what it finally took to patch things up with her dad.
It was late in his life when they got back to speaking to each other.
His health was failing, but that in itself wasn't it.
Nobody really knew what they were fighting about in the first place after all that time, but that in itself wasn't the clearing of the slate.
She said, "God just kept poking me."
She was the one who stepped out and made it happen.
She could have just hung back and kept waiting for her dad to come around and 'be a man'.
She could have just never spoke to him again and maybe she would have been justified in doing so.
But, that's not God's way, and she knew it too.
She really is one of the toughest people I know.
He has a way of doing that. Poking you.
God wants to be reconciled to us.
He wants to patch things up with us and heal us.
He wants us to hang on to our faith and complete the reconciliation, seeing Him, and one day being where He is.
He'll do anything to make sure it happens.
And, He did do everything, through the life and death and resurrection of His Son.
Reconciliation is purely a conception from the heart and mind of God.
Of all the pieces of Christianity that need illustration and explanation, it is one of the hardest to bring forth.
Mainly because it is such a personal subject for any of us to deal with.
I have a hard time focusing in some of my classes when counseling is the subject.
We discuss issues of personal struggle and inner deviation and my mind wanders.
Usually because the whole thing brings to surface some issue or matter that I personally am struggling with.
When the issue of reconciliation comes out in today's scripture passage, I'm willing to bet many of us will get sidelined with some issue from our own families and friendships that will make it hard for us to hear the message of what God has done for us.
But, there in also lies the beauty of it.
If we can work through the issues, we can see what God has done.
It all begins with God.
Colossians 1:19-23
New International Version (NIV)
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
My mother-in-law is one of the toughest people I know.
She can also be stubborn.
She has a terrible time making decisions.
And, she has no problem telling you what is on her mind.
So, several years back when her father and she had some words about some personal matters, it was outsville.
Several years went by without contact or word.
A random Christmas card, usually made out by her mom.
Just one phone call in twelve years, also called in by her mom.
Other than that - silence.
It can be tremendously hard when someone close to you acts as if they want nothing to do with you.
In the matter of ourselves and God, the issue was, as Paul would put it, "our evil behavior" that kept us from having a constant and regular relationship.
It happens on a human level.
It happens on a spiritual level.
Separation and alienation are real matters that can be over come.
The point is, do we want to over come them?
First, lets take a look at what Webster's has to say.
Definition of RECONCILE
transitive verb
1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony
b : settle, resolve
2: to make consistent or congruous
3: to cause to submit to or accept something unpleasant
4 a : to check (a financial account) against another for accuracy
b : to account for
OH, there's that transitive verb thing again.
You might remember me explaining transitive back in an earlier blog post.
There might be harmony between you and one party.
And, there might be harmony between that party and the next party.
SO, there should also be harmony between you and the next party.
Harmony can be transfered between all parties involved.
Unless there is an intransitive part to all this.
intransitive verb
: to become reconciled
Ah. See, the work is not always transferable.
Something needs to be done in order to make those parties reconciled.
In his book, Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado references the meeting in the Upper Room.
He talks about all that Jesus would have had to put up with in dealing with those twelve men, his disciples.
Nobody knows what it was like to be hurt by those closest to himself than Jesus.
He could have lashed out at them.
He could have chewed them out real good for their lack of faith.
It's easy to get bent out of shape when you think people should understand something that seems so simple to you, but they just don't seem to get it.
Jesus is in the perfect position for this.
But, instead of doing any of that, he takes a towel and a bowl of water and begins to wash their feet.
Peter doesn't get it.
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” (John 13.8)
Long before they had done anything wrong, Jesus makes sure they are cleansed of any wrong doing.
“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
What Paul writes about in Galatians takes the same tone.
Reconciliation is God's plan, not ours.
"For God was pleased....to reconcile to himself all things..."
God didn't ask first if it was alright with us before He set the plans in motion.
He just did it.
Jesus didn't wait for the disciples to 'get it' before he cleansed them and forgave them.
He does it before we even know we need it.
Lucado would say it like this,
What does it mean to have a heart like his? It means to kneel as Jesus knelt, touching the grimy parts of the people we are stuck with and washing away their unkindnesses with kindness. Or as Paul wrote, “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ” (Eph. 4:32). “But, Max,” you are saying, “I’ve done nothing wrong. I’m not the one who cheated. I’m not the one who lied. I’m not the guilty party here.” Perhaps you aren’t. But neither was Jesus. Of all the men in that room, only one was worthy of having his feet washed. And he was the one who washed the feet. The one worthy of being served, served others. The genius of Jesus’ example is that the burden of bridge-building falls on the strong one, not on the weak one. The one who is innocent is the one who makes the gesture. And you know what happens? More often than not, if the one in the right volunteers to wash the feet of the one in the wrong, both parties get on their knees. Don’t we all think we are right? Hence we wash each other’s feet.
Please understand. Relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful.
Lucado, Max (2008-09-30). Just Like Jesus: Learning to Have a Heart Like His (pp. 32-33). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.In God's case, He didn't do anything wrong.
And, by all accounts, He should have hung us out to dry.
But, He didn't.
I asked my mother-in-law what it finally took to patch things up with her dad.
It was late in his life when they got back to speaking to each other.
His health was failing, but that in itself wasn't it.
Nobody really knew what they were fighting about in the first place after all that time, but that in itself wasn't the clearing of the slate.
She said, "God just kept poking me."
She was the one who stepped out and made it happen.
She could have just hung back and kept waiting for her dad to come around and 'be a man'.
She could have just never spoke to him again and maybe she would have been justified in doing so.
But, that's not God's way, and she knew it too.
She really is one of the toughest people I know.
He has a way of doing that. Poking you.
God wants to be reconciled to us.
He wants to patch things up with us and heal us.
He wants us to hang on to our faith and complete the reconciliation, seeing Him, and one day being where He is.
He'll do anything to make sure it happens.
And, He did do everything, through the life and death and resurrection of His Son.
