Reconciliation

God initiates reconciliation with His rebel creatures and pays the price of the athlete to win the crown. So, are you reconciled to God?

I had a parishioner once tell me she’d forgiven her sister.

“That’s wonderful,” I said. “When are you going to tell her?”

“Oh, I’m not going to talk to her. I’ve just decided to let it go and move on.”

I paused.

“So you’ve forgiven her, but you’re not going to be reconciled to her?”

“Exactly. I’m at peace. That’s what matters, right?”

Is it? Perhaps forgiveness isn’t meant to be self-centered but reconciling.

Because that’s not forgiveness. That’s just deciding to stop being angry while maintaining the separation. That’s conflict management, not reconciliation.

Genuine reconciliation costs something. It requires you to cross the distance. To speak the hard words. To risk rejection. To make yourself vulnerable again.

You can’t just declare peace from a safe distance and call it reconciliation.

And if that’s true in human relationships, how much more in our relationship with God?