Letting Bygones Be Bygones

 

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That is, in Messiah God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them;
and He has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us.”
~2Cor. 5:18-19

I was reflecting on relationships that I know of where people who were once close, whether friends or family,
who are not on speaking terms. Hurt feelings, differences of opinions ( Presidential elections),
disagreements, and broken trust are just a few of the myriad causes.
Many want reconciliation but because of their pride they wait for the other to “give in”
and be the one to break the ice asking for forgiveness.
Sometimes that never happens. Consider funerals.
When a person dies there are always those with regrets, those who had wished all too late
that they had reconciled while there was time.
I know firsthand: I allowed bitterness to separate me from my own mother,
refusing to grant her the most  important thing I could give her: my forgiveness.
I have a painful confession to make as well :at the time of this writing my oldest daughter and her husband
have chosen to cut themselves off from me because of where I have chosen to live.

No matter how valid our reasoning seems, we have no excuses not to pursue reconciliation;
we were alienated from God our Father because of sin, but reconciliation came hand-in-hand with His love-
in spite of our broken, messed up selves.
He has given us a mandate: Love one another.
This would be the true sign that we are in fact His followers, and there is a string attached-reconciliation /forgiveness.
We are called not to hoard reconciliation, but to steward it, freely extending it with equal liberality –
just as our Abba Father has granted it to us.

So who is on your emotional blacklist, beloved?
Remember that God Himself has entrusted the message of reconciliation to you-
let bygones be bygones, and let it begin today- with you.

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