Webster's Dictionary defines Reconciliation in this way - "the restoration of a friendship after estrangement." Simple definitions like this I find so useful in helping me understand such profound truth. I love what Athanasius says about reconciliation - "Incarnation is reconciliation." Simply put, the Incarnation, the "God with us," is the story behind restoring a friendship after it has been estranged. The friendship is "God to us." We often see it as "us to God," which is completely incorrect.
God is solely the initiator of reconciliation, we are only recipients of His gift of grace. Think of it as someone handing you a gift during this Christmas season that you could never repay. Human nature usually shakes her head no at such an exorbitant gift because we deem it to pricy to repay, and that is exactly the point. The offer of reconciliation in any relationship should be beyond the recipient's ability to repay and it should cost us. Cost us what? It should cost us our pride. Pride is what keeps us from shedding aside the issues that hinder us and allowing love to be the catalyst that pursues the mending of a relationship, either between you and your enemy, or between you and God.
So may I ask, what are you going to shed this Christmas season in order to accept the gift Christ offers you, the gift of reconciliation.
(Don't forget the offer is still on. There is a special prize for the person that comments on either this weeks or last weeks blog.)
Randy
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