Marketplace Reflections (14)

Forgiveness (2)

Paul writes to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 5:17 - 20):

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors of Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Since God has placed the “word of reconciliation” within His people, His people are not only to share this “word” verbally, but they are to be the incarnation of that very word. In other words, it isn’t enough to talk about reconciliation, we are to demonstrate it, to live it; in our thoughts, our words, our actions.

If God is not counting our trespasses against us, what does that suggest about the way we should view others when they trespass against us? Consider these words of the Lord’s Prayer, “And forgive us our debts [tresspasses], as we also have forgiven our debtors [those who have trespassed against us.]”

Notice also who the active person is in the above Corinthian passage and who are the recipients of the action. God is the reconciler, man can receive but he can’t initiate. God places His word of reconciliation in us and we are to pass it on to others, even beg others to receive the reconciliation that God has provided. If God is the initiator of reconciliation in our relationship with Him, and if we have been sent as the Father sent the Son (John 17:18; 20:21), then when we experience alienation in a relationship whose responsibility is it to seek reconciliation?

Let us not forget these words of Paul (Romans 5:10), “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Whatever may be the situation between us and another person, it is impossible for it to be as adversarial as our relationship to God once was - for we were His enemies, we were sinners, and the price He paid to bring us back to Himself is beyond our comprehension - as is the gulf that once separated us from Him. Whatever gulf separates us from another person cannot be compared with the gulf that once separated us from God. Just as God took the initiative to bridge the chasm between us and Him, so are we to learn how to bridge the chasm between ourselves and others. There is perhaps no more difficult thing in the world to repair as a relationship.

Why is reconciliation between people so difficult? Often our pride gets in the way, our insistence that we were right and others were wrong. Our refusal to admit sin and error. Our fear of being vulnerable. Our fear of rejection and the pain that comes with it. Our fear that the other person will use our admission of wrong against us. Our fear that if we forgive someone that the person will take that as permission to wrong us again.

Of course living in a society that often places little value on relationships can be a problem, for others may not see what the big deal is. In a marketplace culture that views people as “resources” and not people, not individuals, not only do we not have time for others, we especially don’t have time to invest ourselves in repairing relationships - it isn’t cost effective...at least that’s how we may think.

However, the foregoing presents us with an opportunity to show others a better way to live, the way of Jesus Christ. We can model the word of reconciliation - both by forgiving others and by asking for forgiveness; we can learn to become the peacemakers that Jesus talked about in Matthew Chapter 5, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [and daughters] of God.”

To be continued...