Reconciliation

“It is that divine initiative, that self-offering by God Himself, which elicits from us faith manifested as repentance and good deeds. The work of atonement—achieving redemption and reconciliation between ourselves and God—is wholly God’s: it is not our offering to the Father, but His gracious offering to us. In His boundless mercy and love, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Cor 5:19).” (Fr. John Breck)

“Reconciling people, not dividing them, is the goal of Christianity…forgiveness stands at the very center of Christian faith and of Christian life because Christianity itself is, above all, the religion of forgiveness. God forgives us, and His forgiveness is in Christ, His Son, Whom He sends to us, so that by sharing in His humanity we may share in His love and be truly reconciled with God. Indeed, Christianity has no other content but love. And it is primarily the renewal of that love, a return to it, a growth in it…” (Fr. Ted Bobosh, Fr. Alexander Schmemann)

“This is the victory of the Gospel—those small, bright moments of reconciliation, when people who would otherwise be enemies, turn and embrace one another in the love of Christ. This is what it means to take up the cross and follow Christ.” (Father J. Sergius Halvorsen)

“ ‘First be reconciled to your brother, and then come offer your gift’ (Matthew 5:24)…Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven’ (Mathew 7:21). It’s very straightforward. Christ expects us strive to be like Him. We are to put His teachings into practice. He reconciled Himself to us out of love even though He suffered and was wronged. He commands us to work toward reconciliation with each other. We will not have salvation until we do so (Matthew 5:25-26). We cannot hold on to grudges. If we do and go to Church and worship and do “all the right things” we are still far from God. We have to have seek reconciliation with those we have wronged or have been wronged by. It’s not easy but forgiveness reconciliation are the heart of our faith.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)

“The most important thing is to be in the process of forgiveness—to desire it, pursue it, and not get stuck in anger and resentment. Forgiveness is a process, not an instantaneous event. What do we do when we forgive someone but continue to feel unsafe around them? This can lead to a great deal of confusion. Have I forgiven them, or haven’t I? Cognitively, intellectually, I have forgiven, but my feelings are telling me I have not. This is completely normal. It means we have emotional memories we need to work through, and this takes more time. If we do not work through the emotional memories, the spiritual danger is that fear will linger. Where fear lingers, anger and resentment soon follow…moments of rumination, when we ponder that which is missing in our life, can lead to healing and reconciliation if we just stay with those moments and see them through. It is there for all of us to tap into and to experience what it means to commemorate our Lord’s Incarnation. We must initiate, humble ourselves, and be the presence of Christ entering into the life of another.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul)

“God's deepest desire is the reconciliation of His people, yet most do not want Him…Because reconciliation is the healing of our deepest longing, it is never too late to seek it." (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 23:37-39, John Ortberg)

“What’s not so popularly understood is that the cross was intended to work two ways: vertically, to heal our irreconcilable differences with God, and horizontally, to heal our irreconcilable differences with each other." (Gary Kinnaman)

“Human beings face two fundamental problems: We are alienated from God and separated from each other. God’s plan of salvation addresses both of these issues. He reconciles us to Himself through the Cross, and He reconciles us to each other in the church." (Colin Smith)

“It is possible to believe in Christ, work hard for his Kingdom, and yet have broken relationships with others who are committed to the same cause. But there is no excuse for remaining unreconciled…When your heart has been cleansed and you have been reconciled to God, you will begin to see a difference in the way you treat others.” (Life Application Study

Bible, Philippians 4:2-3, Deuteronomy 10:16-19)

“Christ’s great act of reconciliation erases human distinctions." (Stephen Mosley)

#StephenMosley #ColinSmith #GaryKinnaman #JohnOrtberg #LifeApplicationStudyBible #OrthodoxStudyBible #FrJohnBreck #FrTedBobosh #FrAlexanderSchmemann #FatherJSergiusHalvorsen #SacramentalLivingMinistries #FrJoshuaMakoul