Reconciliation happens between a sinner and Jesus. Our ministry is to introduce others to Him who has reconciled us to Himself. Forgiveness is putting the offence and the offender in God's hands and leaving it/them there. Reconciliation can only happen if the offender repents and he or she is reconnected to Jesus. There are just some offenses that cannot be reconciled between people on this side of Heaven, but all who repent can be reconciled to Jesus!
You can't reconcile if the sin is the center of attention - like Ham's brothers, they walked in Noah's tent backwards and covered their dad. We need to forgive and practice edification.
Thank you for sharing this. It's always so hard to know what to do in situations where the other person won't repent or continues to do the same thing to us. I wrote this down in my journal as a reminder of how important it is for me to forgive but then to leave that person in God's hand and to pray for them.
ReplyDeleteBlessings - Julie
Forgiving is very important. You can also relieve some pressure by taking this off of your mind. Jesus is the only one who can judge so it is best to leave it in his hands. sometimes it is so hard and takes lots of thought on the part of the person forgiving.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie and Anonymous for sharing your thoughts. And thanks to the East Campus AM Session for blessing us with these love notes.
ReplyDeleteMichelle G.