I
enjoyed attempting to pull the impossible (or ill advised) last week by
preaching on “The Ministry of Reconciliation” of 2 Cor 5:16ff while
simultaneously preaching the entirety of the epistle. I have much yet to learn
when it comes to the art of addressing God’s people, but I think He was able to
work powerfully through my weakness. (… ehh?? :D #2Cor12:9 #claypots #gospel
#boosh) I also enjoyed prepping the youth group with three adjacent weeks of themed
studies (however effective they proved to be; I enjoyed the preparation from my
end) in the hopes of putting more tangible feet, or application, to what can be
considered as the broad topic of reconciliation.
(In a nutshell, I presented the 'ministry/message/word of reconciliation' as the treasure that jars of clay carry, as well as as the gospel message that ambassadors of Christ preach. In order for Christians to carry this message, they must 1) Be reconciled to God, 2) Seek reconciliation with others, and 3) preach reconciliation to those not reconciled to God. As our spiritual act of worship, reconciliation ought to be practiced, declared, and celebrated.)
Paul’s
epistle to Philemon was the first of the studies we did. Basic story: Philemon’s
servant Onesimus runs away, meets Paul in prison, believes in Jesus Christ by
Paul’s witness, and is sent back to Philemon with Paul’s letter calling for
reconciliation between the two. What is interesting to note is that Philemon
was a well-known believer in the church. He may well have hosted the Colossian
church in his house, and he is commended by Paul for the sharing of his faith. Paul
mentions that he could have kept Onesimus with him for the sake of his joy and
gospel ministry, but he appeals for Philemon to take him back willingly, I
believe for reconciliation’s sake. For the gospel’s sake. There is a public
testimony that the gospel has as it is enacted through forgiveness, and Paul
would not spare the world of this declaration of God’s grace. I pulled the
following observations from Philemon:
- Reconciliation entails more than just forgiveness. If Onesimus had not returned, Philemon would have still needed to decide to forgive him. But in order for relationship to be fully restored, it has to be reunited, and fully reinstated to the day-in and day-out graces that life requires. “Wiping the slate clean” doesn’t mean avoiding someone, it means resuming the relationship as if nothing had happened.
- Reconciliation affects more than just two parties. I might be drawing this one out, but I appreciated Paul’s statements in vs4-7 in regards to Philemon’s sphere of influence. The hearts of the saints were refreshed because of Philemon’s testimony and witness- and Paul prays that the sharing of Philemon’s faith would “become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” Real faith in the gospel will result in enacting the gospel, and likewise, enacting the gospel makes a Jesus-declaring statement. I like to think that ‘every good thing that is in us’ is a cool reference to the treasure that jars of clay carry, which is the death and life of Jesus. (2 Cor 4:10-11) #gospel
The
second study we did was on the prodigal son. Cliché, I know. But don’t give me
that. This time I really wanted to focus on the lavish nature of the father’s love
grace towards us in the reconciliation process. Preceded by the parables of the
lost sheep and the lost coin, the story of the prodigal son is well-known, and
the cultural context of the story is almost becoming just as well-known thanks
to exegeting pastors abroad. To request one’s inheritance from a living father
is to wish him dead, and is a cultural ‘shock and awe’. To take back a son
after such an offense, is equally as shocking- but to hike up one’s loins so as
to run to said pig-slop covered son,
only to embrace him, kiss him, reinstate him to full family rights with a
father’s ring and robe, and slay the fattened calf in his name for
celebration… that is nonsensical. Francis Chan might say it is ‘crazy’. Here
are the observations I pulled from this beloved parable:
- The Father: His love towards use is lavish and boundless. There is simply no extent to which the Father would not go in order to find us and bring us back. (The father in the story was even looking for the son, seeing him from afar off.) When He forgives, it is more than a clean slate policy- He reinstates us as children and heirs of God. NBD.
- The Prodigal Son: Doesn’t expect full forgiveness- he is just hoping to become as one of his father’s hired hands. Dear Christian, the depth of your muck and the extent to which you have wandered means nothing in the light of the Father’s grace- sometimes your reconciliation with God is inhibited simply because you cannot bring yourself to accept it. Thankfully, one of Paul’s first statements after describing the ‘message of reconciliation’ that Christians carry is “Be reconciled to God!” (2Cor 5:20) The first step to reconciliation is coming before God broken and humble to accept by grace full reinstatement to His family as a child and an heir. Don’t keep wallowing in your pity party of pig slop; put on the ring.
- The other son: Oo. This one’s fun. The other son is resentful towards his brother and his father because ludicrous grace that the father gives. Not to mention that the remaining half of the father’s possessions, which the family had been limping on since the prodigal’s desertion, could have been considered as the faithful son’s future inheritance- that is, assuming the faithful son wished his father to be dead too. When we find ourselves resentful that others are getting undeserved or coveted blessings, we are not acting with the Father’s heart of reconciliation. Children of a forgiving Father should be excited about all instances of the Father’s forgiveness, which, (interesting!) is a necessary attitude if said children are going to be ambassadors for Christ and ‘message-of reconciliation-carriers’. Reconciliation is a thing worth celebrating, and declaring, so that others might become the ‘righteousness of God’ too. (2Cor 5:20-21)
Finally,
this last Thursday we revisited reconciliation by studying the unforgiving
servant from the parable of Matthew 18. This one was interesting for me because
it sheds dark lights on the master figure that have to be wrestled with. (It is
also preceded by the parable of the lost sheep, keep in mind.) Basic story: The master is about
to sell his servant with his family and possessions in order to settle a large debt,
comparable to 6 million. But the servant pleads to the master, and the master
suddenly relents and negates the debt completely. This is pretty miraculous and
nonsensical, but that servant then goes to a debtor lower than him over a sum
of $10 to scale, and withholds all mercy when the same plea is made. The master
finds out, and throws the first servant’s sorry self in jail.
- The debtor to the servant kind of gets the short end of the stick, he just gets thrown in prison. It is unknown whether the master frees this servant after the first servant’s treachery is discovered.
- The unforgiving servant definitely misses the lesson, and there is one to be had. He does not act with lavish mercy, or even any mercy at all, towards his fellows as the master does. God wants us to forgive others just as lavishly and nonsensically as we have been forgiven. This still holds true even when another’s debt towards you is justly owed, and when in the moment you feel entitled to retribution before you feel obligated to forgive.
- The master is puzzling, but don’t equate forgiveness or imprisonment here with salvation. It is not as though God will take away your salvation if you don’t forgive others as you have been forgiven. Even so, there is gravity here in the master’s attitude towards those who do not emulate his example, and I wanted to use this to communicate God’s very real attitude towards us when we act like the prodigal’s older brother or when we refuse to preach reconciliation/gospel to others simply because we don’t feel inclined to. God will not cast you out if you fail to forgive, because a lack of forgiveness is a sin that He forgives just as lavishly as any other sin. But He may well remove blessing from your life in order to get your attention, because while God is merciful, He is also just. He’s not a tame lion, after all. (“Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” #narnia)
These
are simply observations that I hope will be helpful insights into how you can ‘carry’
reconciliation with you on a daily basis- to your family, friends, roommates,
and co-workers. I can’t apply them for you. But as we celebrate the gospel and forgive, may the Lord work death through
us all, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh and
the surpassing power may be shown to belong to God and not to us. His grace is sufficient. (2Cor 4:11,
7; 12:9)
“For
our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become
the righteousness of God.” 2Cor 5:21 #reconciliation