The Ministry Of ReconciliationShembull

The Ministry of Reconciliation

Day Five – Open Hearts

Somebody has to lead out. There has to be someone in a group, in a squabble, in a tense situation, in an emotional battle who pauses, takes a deep breath and asks, “What would Jesus do? What does He think? What does He want?” Do you ever do this? It is a rare person who asks these questions. Instead, we launch into a reaction that hurts, damages, and separates.  

We often cause irreparable damage because we close our hearts to the way Jesus would handle a situation, and instead walk into a trap that the enemy of our soul places in our path. We become dividers rather than reconcilers. We hurt others and we hurt ourself. Worst of all, we hurt Jesus and continue to nail Him to the cross with our actions. He must continue to suffer for us until we become a new person in Christ and embrace the life He has invested in us to reproduce.  

What a shame for all of us, for the cross doesn’t seem to matter in this situation.  But it doesn’t have to remain this way.  It can change.  But, are you ready to change this cycle?  Are you ready to do battle with the wily Schemer who causes these problems, and step around those traps he lays in your path? If so, it starts with having a heart like Jesus and to be a reconciler like Jesus.

This entire week I have led our thoughts toward this one thought.  We can be reconcilers because we have been reconciled.  We can be reconcilers because we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. This special ability to reconcile people to Christ, to each other and to our self is stimulated, enabled, and engaged because Jesus has invested His life into us.  

Therefore, we have a Sacred Responsibility to embrace our world with His love, and to reinvest it into others.  I tell you that you will never know the joy and fulfilling life that He wants for you as long as you are consumed with yourself and your wants.  To find this kind of life I speak of, it first starts with opening your heart and seeking to know how Jesus would handle a situation, and then to do your best to do as He does.  This is how your ministry of reconciliation begins.