Ministry of Reconciliation

Have you ever received a gift and wondered, "What is it?" or "What am I supposed to do with this?" God has given us countless gifts, but sometimes we may be confused about how to utilize them.

We all have ministries we work hard with, but did you know God has given each of us a ministry? In 2 Corinthians 5:18, the Apostle Paul tells us that God has given us the Ministry of Reconciliation. Wow! That means we have a responsibility to be good stewards of this gift.

So, how does one go about using this ministry of reconciliation? It’s tricky business, as many don’t wish to be reconciled. Or they don’t think they do. Due to hurts, remorse, loss of hope, isolation–there are many reasons, their hearts have become hardened to accepting the love of God and the love of their one-time friends and family.

Perhaps you are in a relationship that is in need of the Ministry of Reconciliation. It sounds complicated, but God not only gave us this ministry, He outlined a simple 3-step plan to assist us:

"Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place" (Revelation 2:5 NIV).

This message, written to the Ephesian church, was an admonishment to them to be reconciled to God. But we can use those same steps as a plan of reconciliation in our own relationships.

1. Remember. Remember what it was like at the beginning of your friendship, marriage, parenting, Christianity. The excitement. The time spent together. Think back to the good times. Make a list of "happy thoughts" from the beginning of your relationship. Remember.
2. Repent. The dissolution of a relationship is usually two-sided. Think what you might have done that hurt the other person. What have you done that might have hurt yourself? Are you still doing anything hurtful? Let go of practices that are harmful to you and others. Repent.
3. Re-do. The scripture says "do the things you did at first." What did you do during the time your relationship was at its strongest point? How did you act? Barbara Streisand sang a song titled, "You don’t bring me flowers anymore." If you used to bring flowers, bring flowers again. If you used to write love notes, write love notes again. If you used to (fill in the blank), then do it. Re-do.

I didn’t say the plan was easy. I said it was simple–three steps. Sometimes tall, hard steps, but just three.

Hopefully, all of your personal/spiritual relationships are healthy and doing well. If that is the case, praise the LORD! Then you are ready to help others who need help by sharing God’s 3-step plan of reconciliation with them.

But be careful. The Bible contains a warning for those who launch their ministry of reconciliation. "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently" (Galatians 6:1a). Paul says that those of us "who are spiritual" should restore (reconcile) the fallen brother.

This means we should have our own house in order before attempting to clean that of someone else. What does "spiritual" mean, anyway? This verse is immediately preceded by the verses that list the Fruit of the Spirit. If we are spiritual, then wouldn’t we bear spiritual fruit? (Apple trees bear apples, after all!) Therefore, to be spiritual would mean to possess the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

The Ministry of Reconciliation is very powerful and rewarding. But then, it is a gift from God!

First Thursday in May

According to traditional holidays and observances of the United States, today, the first Thursday in May, is the National Day of Prayer.

I doubt that any Christian feels their prayer life is adequate. The Bible says to “pray without ceasing,” and it’s hard for me to be in prayer at a basketball game when I feel as though the referees need a seeing eye dog to guide them across the court. Or in traffic when a car cuts in front of me, nearly taking off the front two feet of my three-foot long car!

In Chapter Ten “No Longer Worthy” of my book, The Prodigal Daughter, I discuss how I revived my comatose prayer life on my homeward journey. One thing that helped me more than anything as I struggled to return was keeping a prayer journal. I sought out scriptures about prayer, wrote out my prayers, dated each entry and annoted answered prayers. As soon as I received an answer, I offered a prayer of thanksgiving. This prayer journal strengthened my faith more than any one thing I did along the path toward home.

I think I should begin a prayer journal again.