Reconciliation and restitution

An essential role of the people of God is bringing reconciliation and justice to scenes of conflict and abuse. Although the people of Israel bound themselves to obey God's commandments, they routinely fell short, as we do today.

The word “reconciliation” is used in Scripture to deal with the relationship between God and humanity. Reconciliation is the Greek word katallagē, meaning “an exchange; reconciliation, restoration to favour.”

Reconciliation assumes a broken relationship. Something has happened that has caused two parties to become estranged. The two might have been friends. It might be a business relationship. Or it might be as intimate as marriage. But there is now something between them.

Often, this takes the form of mistreating other people. "When a man or a woman wrongs another, breaking faith with the Lord, that person incurs guilt" (Num. 5:6). Through the work of the Levites, God provides a means of repentance, restitution, and reconciliation in the aftermath of such wrongs. An essential element is that the guilty party not only repays the loss he or she caused 0 per cent (Num. 5:7), presumably as a way of suffering a loss in sympathy with the victim.

Reconciliation involves forgiveness. But it goes beyond forgiveness. When you forgive someone, there is no guarantee that you will have a restored relationship. It may well be that you remain estranged even after you have forgiven someone. Reconciliation, however, restores the relationship.

Forgiveness may be one-sided. However, reconciliation requires both parties to be willing to participate in restoring the relationship. It is always possible for us to forgive. However, reconciliation will not be possible if the other party is unwilling to participate.

When you have wronged someone, you should do all you can to make restitution. The New Testament gives a vivid example of this principle at work. When the tax collector Zacchaeus comes to salvation in Christ, he offers to pay back four times the amount he overcharged his fellow citizens (Lk 19:8). Jesus honoured his sincere intent and said, "Today salvation has come to this house" (Lk 19:9). Jesus was not teaching that to be saved, we must first make restitution. When we genuinely put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, we are cleansed from all our sins.

As a believer, Zacchaeus knew immediately what he could do. For some believers, it takes time to make things right. The critical point is that in our hearts, we sincerely desire to make restitution for sins against others. Then, we are to develop a plan to make it happen and then act on our plan.

Application Questions:

1. To what extent is it necessary for a Christian who has wronged someone, particularly in an economic sense, to go beyond asking for forgiveness and to make restitution?

2. What does restitution look like when slander, gossip, character assassination, etc. occur?

Quote:

Restore what needs to be restored. Ask for forgiveness where needed so that we can go on and share the gift. Our inability or our unwillingness to do that is, I’m sure, what produces a lot of our “dis-ease.” A symptom, perhaps, yet it’s also evidence of our frantic attempts to grasp for joy, to share joy, and to give joy to others instead of first going back and doing that basic homework of the heart that is central to our lives, where we forgive and are forgiven and where we find God’s love and then learn how to share it. Hard preparation produces easy enjoyment. – Eugene H. Peterson

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you that you are always thinking about me. Help me love you in return by living a life of reconciliation with you and others. Amen.