For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1:19-20 NIVUK
There is a serious challenge in these verses, and in other verses too. It's expressed clearly in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). It's a challenging truth that we pray each time we pray the Lord's Prayer:
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12 NIVUK
Or, to be more direct, as another modern translation puts it:
Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.
Matthew 6:12 NCV
And just in case we miss the point, Jesus adds these words:
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14-15 NIVUK
So, let me ask a tough and thoroughly challenging question. We will all be sinned against at some time. That's inevitable. In a fallen world it will happen. So what if God was to show you the same level of forgiveness as you show others? How would that work out for you?
You see, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of Reconciliation. The symbol of Christianity is not a chip on our shoulder. No, it is the cross. The cross where everything that prevented us from being reconciled to God was dealt with quite spectacularly and with complete finality through Jesus' death, as the prophet Isaiah explains:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6 NIVUK
And as Paul explains:
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIVUK
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-24 NIVUK
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-8 NIVUK
Followers of Christ cannot bear grudges. It is utterly forbidden. We must keep short accounts with each other and resolve any and all issues that come up between us as soon as possible. Why? Because Jesus bears no grudges towards us.
But what if we are hurt? What if we are in deep pain?
No-one suffered as much as Jesus, yet when they hammered those nails into His flesh, He prayed these words:
Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 23:34 NIVUK
The question for us to answer is this: Is Jesus' sacrifice enough for Him to pay for our sins? Is it also enough to pay for the sins of the people for others?
If it is enough, then we have no room at all for grudge-bearing or revenge. Instead, we must entrust the situation to our Lord:
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 NIVUK
There is another striking picture of how this works. Some of us have been to music festivals or concerts or to shows in theaters or sports events. We are used to working our way through long lines for refreshments or to use the bathroom. Now imagine what would happen during a Jewish festival. Participants would likely have to line up for a long time, with their live animal sacrifice, to carry out their act of worship. For some festivals, every male of every Jewish family were obliged to attend. It's not hard to imagine that queue being long, smelly and noisy - not to mention sweaty during the summer months.
Now imagine the impact of these verses:
‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 5:23-24 NIVUK
So you wait all that time in an inconvenient, noisy, dirty, smelly queue, get to the front of the line, and then Jesus is telling you to fix the issue with your brother or sister before you even get to carry out the act of worship that you waited in line for in the first place!
I was once at a student Christian Union event. There was a ruler there who had led my team to Romania that summer. On the way home, he had said some harsh truths to me that were fair and warranted, but the timing and place of their delivery was not. He had given me a hard time while on the London Underground train back from London Heathrow to the centre of the city, in a public place with plenty of other people present, while both hungry and tired.
There was communion at that student event. The speaker challenged us to spend time in prayer and then make sure that we had no grudges against anyone, and they had no grudges against us. This is a very Biblical thing to do. As Paul states in the often misunderstood words of institution:
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and ill, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 NIVUK
That student ruler examined himself and came to the conclusion all on his own that he had wronged me. Right there and then, before taking the elements, he came over to me to apologise for something that had happened months earlier.
Right then and there, we resolved the issue.
Have you ever seen anything like that in church? Have you ever seen people resolve their personal issues before taking the Lord's Supper? Have you ever seen anyone refuse the elements because they recognise they have issues with someone else that need to be resolved first?
What would happen if we took this seriously? What would happen in our churches if we realised the issues that bearing grudges and having fall-outs over often petty and paltry issues causes for the Body of Christ? What if we decided that they had to be resolved as far as possible before we take Communion?
As Paul says:
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:17-18 NIVUK
Let me tell you what would happen: there would be a revolution. There would be a revival.
The Gospel is the message of reconciliation: reconciliation between God and humans and between humans themselves. Our cultures are deeply, deeply divided. Perhaps a major role the church can play is to be counter-cultural and work to reconcile the different factions in our fractured society. If we took this role seriously and got rid of the stupid, pointless cliques in our midst, then surely we would greatly improve the society in which we live.
If there was a disaster and doctors refused to treat the wounded, there would be an outcry - and quite rightly too. In the Gospel of Reconciliation, we have the cure for our society's ills. Dare we keep it quiet? Dare we poison the Gospel's pure message with our own petty divisions?
If we really believe in a Creator, Sustainer and Ruler God, then we must also believe in a Reconciler God. If we dare to bear His Name, we must also be reconcilers. If we renounce this role, then we are no longer worthy of the Name.
I have been in a church where reconciliation took place between two people during communion. It had a profound affect on others on the service.