Reconciliation

10/30/2011

Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.

Bible Verse of the Day: Proverbs 13:1 " A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke."

I feel like I have found the key to living a purposeful life, now all that is left is the ability to live it out. Oh for minor details, except that is where the challenge always lies for me, in the details. I am good at seeing the big picture, it is just that all the little things keep getting in the way. You know, little things like fear, and pride and self-consciousnesses and their sinful cousins like lust and anger and greed. If I could just totally remove myself from the equation, things would go so much more smoothly. But I can't and that is my challenge. I must learn how to overcome myself and my own human nature to be able to really achieve the things in my life that can glorify God. You see, I believe strongly in my heart, my soul and my mind That the whole purpose of this life is reconciliation. On many different levels. God reconciling us humans back to Himself, us humans reconciling amongst ourselves, and us as individuals reconciling our own path within and of ourselves.

In the big picture, 2nd Corinthians 5:18 says that "God reconciled the world back to himself through Christ Jesus and also gave us the ministry of reconciliation." We must fully comprehend His big plan in that He provided us a way to be reconciled. That is truly amazing when we think about it. God loves mankind so much, that even in our sinful, fallen state He provided a plan for us to be brought back into His eternal family through the death and resurrection of His only Son for those who believe. That is worth celebrating.

Paul in the book of Ephesians talks about the need for Jews and gentiles to put down the law, and to live as one body in Christ. In Ephesians 2:16-18 he says " and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Humbly, we need to see ourselves as no better than any other group or ethnicity. I believe God hates all types of bigotry and discord. Paul was preaching this message to the Jews and Gentiles, who were not allowed to intermingle let alone be viewed as brothers in Christ Jesus. Christ truly came to break down walls and barriers that exist between us humans, but we still struggle with our inferiority and superiority complexes 2,000 years later. As agents of God's reconciliation, we are called upon to remember and promote the fact that Jesus is the chief cornerstone and that "in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord," as it states in Ephesians 2:21. When we focus on that fact, it is much easier to forget our differences and remember our similarities in finding a common purpose for us to be reconciled as humanity to one another.

The hardest part sometimes for me is the part of reconciling myself to myself. Letting go of the some of my past mistakes, disappointments, resentments and heartaches and forging ahead towards the goal that lies ahead. While I try very hard to always learn from my past, I am still sometimes fatigued by the experiences that have truly left a mark. By the painful times when I didn't give my best effort, or was too easily distracted. When I used short term bandages instead of intensive introspection and deeper faith to deal with my pain. When I let my fears get in the way of taking risks for His glory. Internal reconciliation is critical to being a player and not a spectator for the Lord's team. My understanding and acknowledgement of my shortcomings and finding the strength to deal with them in Christ is a critical part of my on going growth in self reconciliation. WE CAN'T FOOL OUR OWN SOULS! When we pretend or act like we are something we aren't,or try to seek praise from individuals or things who are also flawed, we only bring chaos and disorder to our lives. When we are open and honest with ourselves, and our need for a Savior, we can make huge progress in reconciling ourselves back to not only ourselves but also to God. Then the power can come streaming in that can truly change our lives. I only wish I could bottle that feeling and break it out every moment of my life. Reconciliation is the goal. I believe it takes not only this lifetime, but all of eternity to fully realize the results of it's depth and beauty.