Episode 41

God recently taught me something remarkable about reconciliation. I’ve always thought of reconciliation as something that happens between two people or between groups of people—like with racial reconciliation. As more and more exposed injustices stir up hostilities and erupt into rioting and looting, our grave need for reconciliation becomes more and more apparent. So, how do we go about reconciling with one another? We hear of irreconcilable differences. Is there really no chance at all of reconciling in some cases? When God opened my eyes to the truth about reconciliation, I understood why it often fails. It’s because the process of reconciling must include an essential step—or more to the point—an essential mediator. We cannot truly reconcile without God because first he reconciles individuals to himself through Jesus Christ, and then he makes peace between the individuals who have come to him. God reconciles us to himself. I can’t reconcile you to me or me to anybody. I cannot overcome irreconcilable differences. But thankfully, God makes peace with all who come to him. Like the verse from Colossians in this episode, “He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” (Col. 1:20 NLT) When we know that we can stand before God holy and blameless, without a single fault, then we can make peace with each other. Before we can reconcile our differences with another human being, we must first make peace with God. Let’s hold onto the truth in today’s declaration. Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: Colossians 1:19-23