2Co 5:18 "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation"
Gal 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
These are the two scriptures that have been a major influence on my thinking and conduct as a Christian. The sooner we realize the urgency of the need to continually reconcile man to God and to reconcile brothers back to God, the sooner we will stop back biting and carrying organizational grudges. Some of the fights we fight are not our fights. They are borrowed offenses which we are stuck with for life to our own detriment.
The picture above was chosen to show us just how we should view our Christianity. A journey of diverse characters, personalities, people of differing strengths and weaknesses. When a brother falls, restore as quickly as you can, love on him, keep him in the fold, don't allow him to draw back for there is a reason why we left that place of sin.
Gal 6:2 "Help carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ." (GNB)
Imagine looking at this picture and you were a part of the great trek to a better place and you see a child fall to the side of the tracks. What would your response be at such a time? Looking honestly we would not stand by or walk on, we would be "actively" involved in bringing such an one back to their feet. For to leave them there would be tantamount to murder. And that's exactly how the Word of God puts it. He who hates his brother is a murderer.
1Jn 3:15 "Those who hate others are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life in them."
Let's look at these people in solidarity and picture what a powerful force Christianity would be if we simply held each others hands and kept walking. I can guarantee you that these people are not asking each other about lineage or bank balances. They are not joined by class and societal positioning. They are united by the personal struggle they had with a tough master. The promise of a better life for all. I can guarantee you that some will find home before others do. They will reach a place of peace and settle for good, but for others they will keep walking and keep together till they are all safe in their place of the "promise".
We should make reconciliation a major focus as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. If we were honest with ourselves I'm sure we all know that one family where the members seem to stick together so strongly. They create memories and their smiles beckon you to join them. They pay for each others fees, or helped each other emigrate and they are all doing well. It's a very attractive picture. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be the picture that the world sees when they look at Christianity. They can see the schisms and they can see the brothers we have left behind to be fodder for the beasts of the wild. And it doesn't look good.
Luk 15:8 "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? "
Are not our brothers more precious than that woman's lost coin? Let's try and knit ourselves together in a spirit of love and true "comradery". The denomination is no the problem, the destination, however, is. The grades at school are not the matter, the growth in Christianity, however, is. Doctrinal difference is not the matter, for we can agree to disagree and continue to love those who are truly brothers in Christ. I'm not saying incorporate the totally lost. I am, however, saying that we can love beyond our differences and truly create the kind of Christianity that Christ set out to see.
In His Royal Service
George Mwamlowe
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