Reconciliation Might Follow Forgiveness

Scripture: "And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him." (2 Corinthians 5:18).

When Gina was in grade school, another girl, Emma, was often mean to her. After they had gone their separate ways, Gina chose to forgive Emma, in obedience to God. But since they now lived in different towns, they had no chance to restore their relationship.

Human Reconciliation

I don’t think God wants us to leave things unfinished like that. Jesus said, " If you are presenting a gift [to God] and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God" (Matthew 5:23-24). We should follow His model, being "compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love" (Psalm 103:8). So we want to obey when He tells us to mend our human relationships, just as Jesus mended our relationship with God. After all, "He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. … God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’" (2 Corinthians 5:19-20).

God’s Reconciliation

It turns out that God was waiting for Emma to “come back.” About 20 years after graduation, the women met again – at a Christian music concert! Sometime during those two decades, Emma had found salvation through Christ. When they saw each other, she jumped at the chance to be reconciled with Gina. God’s promise that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person” (2 Corinthians 5:17) was evident in Emma’s life. Gina and Emma, once enemies, were now sisters in Christ. They embraced and rejoiced together in their common salvation. Similarly, we all were “God’s enemies,” but “we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). And we can make peace with each other, because through Christ, “God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in Heaven and on earth” (Colossians 1:20).