Message of Reconciliation
God entrusts you with the message of reconciliation. If you’re like me, the word that jumps out is reconciliation. It is said a person hears and can repeat the last thing you say because it is the freshest in their minds. Instead I’d like to break this sentence or phrase of scripture from the beginning to learn more about what God is calling us to do.
God. I have come to know God as my creator, my father and the one who knows by beginning, middle and end. God is love. God is I Am, a constant being. To me there is nothing greater than God.
Entrusts. Not often do I hear someone use the word entrust but I think this might be why I feel it is the key word in the sentence. In order to entrust someone with something, you must have something very valuable which you want them to guard and protect. Entrust is a verb which means it requires some action from you. You might trust someone but would you entrust them with the thing(s) most important to you?
You. It should be obvious. Although, sometimes when reading scripture, or referring to God, the command or request can seem impersonal. God is speaking to this group of people or to this person, not to me. However, all of scripture is there for your benefit, to learn from and listen to in order to know God and yourself better.
Message. Leave a message after the beep. It consists of a few words, short and sweet. A message is a communication whether in writing, speech or signals; primarily giving direction. For example, “I went to the store” or “The key is under the mat” or “Give me a call when you have a minute” are some common messages.
Reconciliation. This word makes a lot of people freeze. It means to bring together which doesn’t sound so bad but it can be a challenge to reconcile your bank account or find common ground with someone whom you don’t share similar…anything. The human element of reconciliation means you might need to give something up to meet in the middle and this is not an easy thing to do. It is not easy to concede, especially if what you are standing up for is something you are passionate about. Reconciliation though is a similarly powerful word and requires work, it is not a verb but a noun. It is a thing you which you are to take action.
When I breakdown the piece of scripture, I’m still hung up on the word entrusts. It makes me think about how guarded people are of their cell phones, using pass-codes that they don’t share with anyone. I heard someone say how people are much more likely to give their bodies to someone through sex than share the pass-code to their phone. This correlation put a new perspective on what we value as a society. Shouldn’t it be the other way around???
Since I put the emphasis on the word entrusts, it causes the scripture passage to penetrate my core. God entrusts me. He’s given me something of value and I must do something with it. Especially when I learn that the verb in the sentence is entrusts; that is the action. I must share the message of reconciliation.
I’ve preached before that I believe faith is caught, not taught which means I’m of the mindset that I will lead by example. God entrusts me with the message of reconciliation so I must work to share the message through my words and actions. I do this by taking two opposing ideas and breaking them down to find common ground and learning how they can come together. It is a lot of work but God entrusted it to us, so it is our responsibility to do it.
To take actions to find reconciliation is not an easy task and can cause pain. I imagine God knows this already but calls us to it anyways, not because he wants us to be hurt, rather to learn and grow from the experience. I think reconciliation is one of those things where having a magic wand to create it would be preferred but if the want magically brought things together, it would not be authentic and we wouldn’t learn from the experience.
One of the most memorable stories of reconciliation was told through a video during a music concert. Matthew West, Contemporary Christian Artist met a woman who befriended the man who is in prison for killing her daughter. This woman fought the battle within to blame and be angry at this man. She had to come to a reconciliation within herself before she could begin to find common ground with this man, enough to form a relationship and find reconciliation with him. It is a compelling and powerful story, but I think it encompasses the power of the scripture passage and the value of what God has entrusted.
