Followers of Christ are called to be reconcilers. The pages of Scripture are replete with examples and commands of how our reconciliation with God is supposed to come to bear on the realities and people surrounding us. That’s what all of those “one another” passages are about. It only takes a quick survey of our present times to see the many areas in which we need reconciliation: denominational, political, racial, socio-economical, mask vs. no mask, and the list just goes on. Being a reconciler means our orthodoxy (doctrinal belief about reconciliation) and our orthopraxy (our practice and action of actually living out reconciliation) come into alignment. As disciples, the work of reconciliation is the down and dirty of our vocation. We should engage this work with great zeal, but to often we acquiesce to apathy because reconciliation requires great humility and courage. It’s messy. It requires vulnerability. It’s challenging. So how do we overcome the obstacles to reconciliation??? Through the Gospel! The Kingdom Gospel! The Gospel Jesus lived and proclaimed was the powerful combustion of truth and context colliding together. All of His actions and every interaction resulted in a manifestation of the Gospel. If the Gospel we live doesn’t cause the vertical reality of our inclusion into God’s story to impact the horizontal reality of diverse others being included into our story…it’s not the Gospel. If it doesn’t result in the power to live surrendered to Jesus’ Lordship in our words and deeds…it’s not the Gospel. If it doesn’t affect our communal living of the image and mission of God…it’s not the Gospel. The message of the Gospel is the message of reconciliation. So, does the Gospel you believe produce a right response and cause you to be a faithful, reconciling presence with people within your spaces? If it doesn’t, you need to revisit the gospel you believe. We’ve got to stop raising our war banners and grumbling against political ideologies that differ from ours. We’ve got to stop dismissing the work of the Spirit in other people’s lives because they have a different denominational label. We’ve got to stop disregarding the injustice experienced by the poor and marginalized just because it’s not our story. We need to be reconcilers. YOU need to be a reconciler. Your ministry is reconciliation. So, where do you need to get to work?
