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Concept of Reconciliation
Reconciliation (the process of making two things consistent, accurate, and in agreement) means different things for and in different contexts. The dictionary notes that reconciliation is the noun form of the verb reconcile, which comes from the Latin reconciliāre, meaning “to make good again” or “to repair.”
In the financial and banking sectors, it is an accounting process ensuring the actual amount of money spent matches the amount shown debited from an account at the end of a fiscal period. Individuals and businesses perform reconciliation at regular intervals to check for errors or fraudulent activity.
According to Black’s Law, reconciliation is the renewal of amicable relations between two persons who had been at enmity or variance; usually implying forgiveness of injuries on one or both sides. It’s sometimes used in the law of divorce as a term synonymous or analogous to “condonation.” Reconciliation in family law is the process by which parties who are legally separated resume their marital relationship and cohabitation. Daniel Philpott expounds and elucidates reconciliation as a concept of justice.
Reconciliation means ‘to be at peace again’, and increasingly, it is being considered as being vital for sustainable peace. Reconciliation processes in post-conflict societies are often highly complex, for it involves a long-term process. Through it, the parties involved in a violent dispute build trust, learn to live cooperatively and create a stable peace. This can happen at the individual, community, and national levels.
Art of Reconciliation
Reconciliation in relationships means repairing broken relationships and restoring communication between two or more people. Reconciliation is about seeking to transform relationships that have become damaged or destructive into relationships of trust that bring new life. The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance, one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, is also referred to as a sacrament of healing.
The Bible declares in II Cor 5:17 – 18: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God sent His Son into this world to bridge the gap and repair the broken relationship between His creation and Himself. Through the sacrifice of His Son, He restored communication with us through the cross, after the dictates of His justice were fulfilled. God was now free to flow in mercy and grace towards all of mankind, to His heart’s content, since the price was paid!
Reconciliation began with God reaching out to man, and not man seeking God. Adam and Eve hid themselves from God, but He sought them out. Even as He punished them for sin, He gave them a hint of the promise of restoration and victory.
Act of Reconciliation
In Eph chapter 2, we see that Christ has put an end to all divisive rulings and principles in His body, birthing a new humanity. Then, through His death on the cross, He enabled this new community to have access to and relationship with the Creator. Thus, He made peace between man and man, and between God and man. The cross ended the hostility between the different races, and the enmity between God and man because of sin. That’s why He is called the Prince of Peace, for He destroyed all antagonism and wrath within mankind as well as with God.
The Greek word for reconciliation in the Bible, katallagé, denotes restoration, an apt description of what happened in and through Christ. By offering Himself as the propitiation for sin, He made a way for the restoration and renewal of the relationship between God and human beings, and between humans.
Nowhere is this more exemplified and exhibited than in the parable of the prodigal son. In it, a man’s younger son demands and receives his inheritance, and squanders it by indiscriminate living. He comes back, hoping to be accepted at least as a servant since he had lost all and deteriorated to the state of living with pigs. His father not only accepts him unconditionally but also receives him as a son and not a servant. Now when his elder brother comes back to the feasting and rejoicing for the return, he is offended by the easy restoration of the younger son. His father now has to come and persuade him to receive and be reconciled to his brother.
Such a picture of reconciliation and restoration, between the father and the son, and the son with son, despite having sinned against God and man!
Reconciliation vs Resignation
There is a difference between being resigned to a situation or a relationship, and being reconciled to people and facts. Resignation is passive acceptance of a situation or relationship, filled with hopelessness and helplessness since change seems impossible. Reconciliation, on the other hand, is active and dynamic, positive and hopeful, open and accepting, despite the hurts caused. It is an attitude of recognition and affirmation that looks towards change and moves towards restoration.
Resignation denotes downturn and stagnation, a giving up of the situation as inevitable, with no hope of reform. Reconciliation factors in transformation since it involves a willingness to recognize one’s erroneous views, and the ability to realign views.
It is important to note that reconciliation needs humility, to extend the hand to repair a relationship, as well as to accept the hand-tended towards us in appeasement. Reconciliation doesn’t insist on reformation but moots it through its reception and acceptance.
Symbol of Reconciliation
Unmistakably and undoubtedly across generations and civilizations, the cross of Christ is the undisputed symbol of reconciliation and restoration. It is the epitome of extreme love and sacrifice, an undeniable picture of humility and abandonment by a human being for the sake of others. The cross shows that without laying down one’s life, it isn’t possible to reconcile the races or the masses or the peoples of the earth.
The cross, once the mark of ignominy of crime and shame in the Roman world, stands today as the representation of reconciliation with God and man. Its vertical arms show the connection between heaven and earth, while its horizontal arms embody the link between man and man.
It is to be noted that without the vertical arm to support it, the horizontal arm cannot stand on its own. Relationship with God must precede and supersede that with man. It is impossible to live a life of love for a neighbour without the basis of the love of God. Only when we understand that God loved us enough to die for us, and loves us still, can we receive love to be able to love others!
It is impossible to love others and be reconciled to them unless and until the love of God that’s poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit compels us to do so!
Mandate of Reconciliation
Once we have been reconciled to and with God and man, we have a mandate to follow. The Christian faith doesn’t stop with just being reconciled to God and man but goes beyond to reach out to the world and community outside. The call of discipleship is to do what Jesus did as a man, viz., reconcile people outside the church to God and to one another. II Cor 5:18-20 points out that those who follow Him have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, as the ambassadors of Christ, we have been given the mandate to carry the call to reconcile, and be reconciled, to the ends of the earth.
This is why reconciliation is the Keystone and Cornerstone of Christian persuasion, for God chose to be reconciled with us. As His followers, every Christian is duty-bound to boost and foster reconciliation and restoration with God through the good news of Christ. Then, we turn around and bring reconciliation and understanding between people. The gospel of Christ is called the gospel of peace for it shows the way to have peace with God and man.
The question is, are we being ambassadors of Christ, promoting and propagating reconciliation and peace? Or are we aiding and abetting strife and division at hone, at work, in church, and in the community around?
*A good follow up article is Strategy – Covering One Another’s Back!
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