Remember God is in the Business of Reconciliation
This post is part 9 of our series, What to Do When the Church Lets You Down. You can see all the posts here.
God is in the business of reconciliation. Since the beginning of time, God has been on a mission to reconcile His children to Himself. He is so serious about it, He sent His only son to die on a cross for us. He did this so that Jesus could stand in our place, sit at His right hand and be what we could never be.
Christ is our righteousness!
This is redemption.
This is forgiveness.
By my faith in Jesus, when Christ died, I died. The old is gone and the new has come. I am forgiven.
Even though Christ is my righteousness, conflict happens. Many people are surprised that churches are full of conflict. Salvation does not mean I, or any other Christian, become instantly perfect. Just as marriage is an intimate union of two people, church is an intimate union of believers. Conflict should not come to us as a surprise. Conflicts are an inevitable part of the church because it’s a melting pot of sinners saved by grace who are still doing battle with the flesh.
When the church lets us down, it’s easy to take it personal. It’s easy to internalize the battle and make it about us. But the conflict is not about us. It’s about Him. It’s about the spiritual warfare we take part in every single day – flesh vs. spirit.
As we are being perfected into the likeness of Christ, conflict within the body of believers will happen. When the church lets us down, we can choose forgiveness because we know this conflict isn’t ultimately about us and our feelings. It’s about the One who created us. We can choose to trust in Jesus, author and perfecter of our faith, because we can trust that He is in the business of reconciliation by looking to Calvary Hill.
Have you been hurt by the church?
Part 10 – Remember God Isn’t Finished Yet
Linked with Hip Homeschool Hop, Titus 2 Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, Titus 2sday, Welcome Home Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Raising Homemakers.
I agree, when I worked our church is full of people who are not perfect, it was much easier. I think I thought that they knew better as they have been Christians longer but actually that is not the case and it is not very fair of my to expect that.
It’s so easy to forget!
Leigh Ann, I found this post on the Hip Homeschool Mom party and just had to read the rest of the series. Thank you, and I look forward to reading the last in this series. in HIM, Gin
One thing that helped me was the realization that this is not just a church problem. It is a human problem. I pulled away from the church out of the hurt I had found there. I became involved in the theater and at first, thought it surpassed the church in love and acceptance. However, the longer I was there, the more squabbles, power struggles, pedantic divas and general conflict began to be revealed. I found this, in an odd way, comforting. The church isn’t the only place to find all of the human struggle. Disillusionment is actually a blessing, because the illusion of perfection is gone. So I am disillusioned with both the church and the theater, but it is in that place that I have found a path to a more authentic faith. No church will be perfect, but I am coming home to a place that points me to Jesus in the midst of my pain.
Thank you for adding to the conversation, Janelle! I have been involved in the theater for many years and know exactly what you are talking about- both the love and acceptance and feeling of family, and the conflict and “drama.” I’m so excited to hear you are on the path of reconciliation and I pray your journey of pain and healing always points you to Jesus.