Relationship to Reconciliation

Ram Dass, a spiritualist and author once said, "We're all just walking each other home." Martin Luther is credited with saying, "We are all mere beggars showing other beggars where to find bread." Humble approaches to relationship (though, sadly, Dass was not intentionally walking others to Christ). 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 is one of the clearest, most humbling expositions on our "job" as citizens of the Kingdom of God living in relationship on Earth:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Simply put: We have been saved and transformed, reconciled with our Creator; now go, develop relationships, and show others they can be also!

In her novel, Glittering Images, Susan Howatch explores the existential crisis of her character, Rev. Canon Dr. Charles Ashworth. He has developed dual personalities; not in the sense one is acutely aware of the other's activity, but in the same way we sometimes tend to move seamlessly from our "public" self to our "private" self. Ashworth's dominant public persona had been constructed to gain approval and disguise feelings of worthlessness; but a public breakdown causes him to seek the help of Father Jonathan Darrow.  

"I SUPPOSE you now want me to admit," I said later as Darrow sat down beside me on the bench in the herb-garden, "that there are a bunch of terrible skeletons in the family cupboard."

"Charles, I'm just the porter with the trolley. I'm not here to criticise (sic) the quality of your luggage or to order which bag you should put down. My function is simply to offer you the chance to get rid of any bag which you don't want to carry any more, but the decision to keep or discard each bag must be yours and yours alone."

What a marvelous picture of how we can present the Gospel to others! What a marvelous picture of how Jesus presented Himself to me! This is what coming alongside others can look like. And I can't say this without mentioning, this is how we've seen our pastor do this hundreds of times. Involvement. Investment. Interest. No fanfare or gimmicks. Without judgment or unnecessary rebuke. Not ignorant or accepting of sin, but seeing those held in its clutches, needing to be free, and giving them the One Way to freedom. Here's what it means to be free in Jesus. Watch what I can do, how I can live, because of Jesus. You can, too. Relationship with the goal of reconciliation. 

My father dabbled in sales back in the day. I say "dabbled" because I distinctly remember boxes and boxes of product in our garage long after he had quit the business. Perhaps he was his best customer. Nevertheless, I remember him telling my mother with confidence, "The product sells itself!" Not to belittle the Gospel in any way, but Jesus doesn't need our flashy antics or a worldwide platform. The Gospel works and does its best work when we simply strive to be honestly and fully who God made us to be; and we open our arms and hearts to demonstrate and facilitate the coming to reconciliation of those around us.