Your Ministry of Reconciliation

 

Current Teaching Series Growing in the Seasons of Life

Your Ministry of Reconciliation By Rick Warren — 09/09/2024 "[God] has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn't hold people's faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (GW) When you want to repair a relationship where there is conflict, you want to focus on reconciliation, not resolution. There's a big difference! Reconciliation means reestablishing the relationship. It doesn't mean you'll remarry your ex or become best friends with someone who hurt you; it just means you're at peace with each other.  Resolution means you resolve every disagreement, and that just isn't going to happen most of the time. Because the truth is, there are some things in your marriage, your friendships, and your work relationships that you're just never going to agree on, because we're all different.  But you can disagree without being disagreeable. That's called maturity. That's called wisdom. That's called being like Jesus Christ. We can have unity without uniformity. We can walk hand in hand without seeing eye to eye. My wife Kay and I have been married for more than 50 years, and we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. But we walk hand in hand and support each other. We are at peace. Here's what I've learned from counseling marriages: If you focus on restoring your relationship, oftentimes the issue becomes insignificant. How many of your biggest arguments were over the smallest things? They weren't really about that. You need to get back to focusing on the relationship. I challenge you as a believer to commit to becoming an agent of reconciliation in a world filled with conflict. Become a bridge builder, not a wall builder. Look for ways to bring people together rather than tear them up. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, "[God] has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn't hold people's faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others" (GW). If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have a ministry of reconciliation. It's your job to go out in society and say, "God's done everything to put you back in fellowship with him. You don't have to be his enemy. He's not mad at you; he's mad about you. Be reconciled to God. Be at peace with God. Then spread that peace with everybody else." Your ministry of reconciliation starts in your own relationships, as you look to God for his grace and courage to extend it to others. PLAY today's audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What is a point of contention in your marriage or a friendship that you have not been able to resolve? What steps do you need to take to focus more on that relationship and reconciliation instead of resolving the issue? How can you work to become an agent of reconciliation right where you are in your family, workplace, and community? The post Your Ministry of Reconciliation appeared first on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope.

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Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes 7 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Growing in the Seasons of Life. LEARN MORE

Series Summary Message 1: Understanding the Seasons of Life Message 2: The Season of Loneliness Message 3: The Season of Loss Message 4: The Season of Parenting Message 5: The Season of Financial Stress Message 6: The Season of Temptation Message 7: How to Reconcile a Relationship PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick's daily audio teaching at PastorRick.com Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church, one of America's largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life. His book The Purpose Driven Church was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created The PEACE Plan to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at PastorRick.com. © 2024 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

 

 
 
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