In need of reconciliation
Many of us who serve at various church congregations in Bonner County and write for the Daily Bee Pastor’s Corner are friends and colleagues. We meet weekly and have a lunch together and pray for one another and our different congregations. We see each church congregation as an important part of the Body of Christ in our community, county, and region. (The Body is used to describe the entire church in 1 Corinthians 12 of the New Testament.).
Each part of the Body having an important function and contribution to the health and function of the whole body. Our distinctives of Bible translations, worship styles, music, preaching, and programs offered are not truth essentials that separate us. I remember an Amish pastor coming to me years ago saying, “I repent.” My question back was, “What for? You’ve done nothing to me.” He replied, “I repent for our separateness.” He recognized the Amish had separated from the rest of the body of Christ for non-essentials of culture
Abraham Lincoln said in June of 1858, “A house divided against itself, cannot stand.” He was paraphrasing the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke where Jesus said, “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.”
We have witnessed our American society becoming divided over many things. For 20 years numerous newspaper and magazine articles have discussed the polarization of our society. This shouldn’t even be newsworthy. We have heard it for a long time. It is true that problem identification is the first step in finding a solution. It is also true that continued talking about a problem is not a solution. One might conclude that is what we think since every problem in our country gets interviewed, dissected, and analyzed to death.
Pastor Ronnie Floyd was chairman of the National Day of Prayer a few years ago. At that time, he said, “A divided church cannot call a divided nation to unity.” It was a simple and profound statement. Proverbs 6: 16-19 discusses 7 things detestable to God. The seventh in verse 19 is “a person who stirs up conflict”. This a negative ‘don’t be this’ kind of teaching. A positive ‘be this’ kind of teaching is found in Matthew 5:9 from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Cancel Culture has been around a lot longer than the name made popular in the media. If we call ourselves Christian let us strive to be peacemakers. Reconciliation is a lot easier said than done. It requires humility and courage. It requires admission of being a part of the problem and requires asking forgiveness for our part in the conflict.
Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is not minimizing the wrong done. Forgiveness is not trust. Trust takes much longer to rebuild. Forgiveness is relinquishing the right to get even. Implied is that an injustice was done. I had a high school teacher at Sandpoint High School I really respected but he gave me a terrible piece of advice. He said, “Bud, don’t get mad but you should always get even.” Forgiveness is choosing to let go of getting even. This is the heart of reconciliation. I’ve witnessed amazing healing people experience when they reconcile.
By asking for forgiveness when we do wrong and granting forgiveness when people wrong us, we are peacemakers. By doing this we bring a solution to Cancel Culture and not merely more talk. That said, consider reconciliation with God. He is longing to have a restored relationship with you.
Bud McConnaughey serves on the staff of North Summit Church, 201 N. Division, Sandpoint. If you want to know more about reconciliation and the healing it brings, contact us at www.northsummit.com If you have a church family, contact your pastor, and discuss how you can reconcile broken relationships and become peacemakers.