If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. | Romans 12:18
On Sunday, we talked about how we should respond to being brought into the family of God. More specifically, we looked at the two descriptors that Paul uses to describe how God’s people ought to live. He calls us: ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation. What both invites us into and propels us is: God’s work in redeeming us. Paul puts it this way:
in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. | 2 Corinthians 5:19
The way that we live out being ambassadors is both in telling the story of what God has done, but also living it out. The life of reconciliation looks at the world as opportunity after opportunity to bring God’s healing into His world. In the sermon, I said it this way:
The brokenness of sin and the ministry of reconciliation is everywhere. One of the ways that we live as ambassadors is by showing how the reconciliation that we have been given can be applied to all of these situations. We use the tools God has given us to bring healing to the brokenness we see in the world. As we refuse to enter the fight and instead aim for reconciled relationships, it will make us look very strange to the world. In a world that is about getting what you can and settling scores, to be a people of forgiveness and reconciliation reveals another way – a way that is only possible through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ.
Whenever I say things like ‘heal the world,’ it brings to mind videos of celebrities singing about big causes and pledging to bring reconciliation to conflict. Like this:
While I may have just been looking for an excuse to post the video, it is amazing to me how often our aim for reconciliation goes global and seeks to solve problems for others, before we are willing to see what is right in front of us. As an example, many of the stars in the video above have broken marriages, estranged families, and inappropriate relationships with children, yet their solution to the world’s problems is: to give money to Africa. I have no problem sending money to poorer nations (and I don’t expect these celebrities to understand the gospel way that Paul is laying out), but you can’t just buy yourself out of the consequences of sinful brokenness. You can’t sing about unity while actively creating disunity (well you can, but it is hypocritical and doesn’t hold up to scrutiny).
Too often we do the same. We look past our own broken relationships to go help those broken people over there. We forget that we are ambassadors and take on the role of Saviors. But the message of reconciliation is that WE need it. That our lives are also ravaged by sin and broken relationships. In the gospel, we are given a means to press in rather than ignore; to apply the message of reconciliation to our own brokenness first.
This is why we should start at home, taking stock of the ways that sin has affected the relationships with our family and friends. Then we should apply it to the church: how am I acting in ways that are preventing me from being able to experience the unity of the body that the Bible talks about? We should apply this to our workplace, asking the question: what kind of ambassador for Christ am I with those whom I spend 40-50 hours a week with? We start here, because this is where we can actually affect real change, and where our actions and words are going to overlap.
This doesn’t mean we don’t go out and march for justice, serve the poor, and give money to Africa. All of this must flow from a life that has already applied the message of reconciliation. Seeing God work in your life and relationships is the fuel for the broader work of healing ministry. God’s reconciling work in our personal life is both part of the message we proclaim, but also the motivation to keep stepping into broken situations for the sake of His glory.