The Art Of Reconciliation

And this brings me to something that most folks don’t seem to understand real well.

People say we are to forgive and forget. Well, that’s not always possible. Some people, including myself, have been hurt in ways that make it impossible for us to just forget it.

It’s not “forgive and forget,” it’s “forgive and choose to not bring it up again.”

Look at Proverbs 17:9, printed in your bulletin.

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

Holding a grudge does absolutely no good for anybody. You need to let it go. That may take some real time, because some of you have been hurt terribly, and the person who has done it has no intention of repenting and asking forgiveness.

But you can choose to not dwell on it. Quit picking the scab. Rub the ointment of intentional forgiveness into the wound and let God heal it. There will probably be a scar, but it won’t get infected with bitterness and rage.

God will give you the help you need, and over time you will feel the pain less and less. I can tell you that’s true from personal experience.

Conclusion

Folks. I’m just going to go out on a limb here and admit that I’m not perfect. DO NOT SAY “AMEN” TO THAT!!!

I’ve already mentioned that I’ve had to ask forgiveness for things I’ve done, and you can count on it happening again.

And there have been times I have had to set aside my preparations for Sundays to make sure a relationship was right, because I couldn’t bear the thought of trying to worship, lead in worship, and try to bring God’s Word if I knew I had hurt someone and hadn’t at least attempted to bring reconciliation.

But I had to at least try to repair that relation ship.

Folks, the heart of this passage isn’t murder, or even worship. The heart of this passage is relationships.

God is concerned about our relationships while on earth. He made us for relationship, with Him and with others. He made us to need other people.

Think through your relationships and see if there is someone you need to reconcile with. For the sake of the relationship between you and them, and between you and God.

Remember, even your worship is not what it should be if you have not taken the time to reconcile with someone you know has a beef with you.

Folks, the burden of broken relationships is huge, but the relief of reconciliation is even greater. And when reconciliation happens, God smiles.

God likes it when His children get along.

Let me end by relating a story I came across while I was researching for this message.

I’ve heard that when President Bush was governor of Texas he had to deal with a lot of conflict. He came into office with a legislature that was in the opposite party. Early in his term he met with the opposition leader of the legislative branch with the hopes of building a cooperative coalition for the future.

The meeting was a failure. There was no trust and no agreement. There was plenty of conflict.

At the end of the session as Bush got up to leave he suddenly reached over and grabbed the opposition boss with both hands on his neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.