Reconcile

After being home for a week, my head is starting to clear.  It has been a difficult adjustment home.  The jet lag and all that we have experienced has had us sick with exhaustion.  There is so much I want to share, but I know it will take some time to make sense of all these thoughts.

To give you an idea of the great mass of things swirling around in my brain, I will try to share with you some that are on the tip of my tongue (or fingers).  But, first, I must take a moment to thank all of you that have prayed, cried, and have supported us on our journey and I want to thank our Heavenly Father for granting us the great gift of not only allowing us to hear of Him, but to see Him.  We will be eternally grateful.

"I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you." ~ Job 42:5

Amazing Grace!!

So, here it goes...

Reconcile:

  To restore relationship; Cause to coexist in harmony, to make or show to be compatible.

How can I reconcile all that I have seen?

How can I put all these thoughts, emotions, and experiences into a neat, orderly package for minds to be able to grasp? 

How can I feel joy for the comfort of my home and family when those that have become a part of my heart are hungry and sleeping on floors?

How do I celebrate our safe return when those that preached the gospel with me are being charged as criminals?

How can I sit another moment in a cold pew and call it church when I have worshiped under palm branches as hearts are poured out to the Lord?

How can we bring our offerings, our set aside extra resources, to the church and expect the Lord’s favor when I have watched the poor widow leave her last bag of rice and bottle of coconut oil at the altar?

Why has the Lord chosen to bring us safely home to our cozy, clean bed while he has chosen others to stand all night on the front lines?

Are we really in the better place?

I've seen the joy of those that have nothing and misery of those whose hands are full.

I've seen the compassion for the poor be more than a hand out.

I've witnessed what the early church must have looked like.

I've found more in common with strangers on the other side of the world than with those that shake my hand at home.

I've watched the gospel preached with urgency that I've never experienced before.

I've prayed and begged for the healing of the sick, the poor, and the lonely in a way that our conservative churches rebuke.

Here in America, we seem to have it all.  Everything, but joy.

We look to Christ as one who satisfies our own desires—our lust for more. 

We serve an anti-christ!  A christ we have created in our own minds.  One that gives acceptance and brings comfort, but never requires anything of us.

The real Christ calls for suffering.  The real Christ shows us the cross.  Through His death, He gives life.  The real Christ satisfies the soul, not the flesh.

I have tasted the real thing and this anti-christ will no longer bring me peace.  My soul longs for Jesus.  He delivers me from my own selfish desires.  He is my Savior.

I am crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live.  It is Jesus that lives in me.

So, how can I reconcile all that I have seen?  I cannot, but Christ can and has.

Romans 5:8-9

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Once, I was God’s enemy.  I was full of anger and wrath, until He presented me with a gift, the gift of reconciliation.  Through the death of Christ, my sin has been punished, His wrath has been poured out, and I have received the greatest gift.  My sentence is life instead of death.  He has reconciled me to Himself.  

Romans 5:10-11

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Here is where I experience the JOY.  It was of no work of my own that I have been given life.  My joy is not found in houses, furniture, jobs, cars, vacations, etc.  It was while I was His enemy that He died for me.  He is my source of JOY.  I have no reason to boast or brag.  It is all a gift.  I am humbled and rejoice, but it doesn't stop there.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 

He has given those of us that have been reconciled to Himself a ministry of reconciliation.  He has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation.

As Americans, we have become very self-assured.  We have been successful and have come to believe that all our merits are from our own hands.  We feel we have the right to be treated with respect and will fight for justice as long as it brings us comfort.  We reject anything that brings guilt or shame.  As Proverbs says, pride comes before a fall.  I believe America is on the brink of a great fall.  May the Lord grant us mercy.

As American Christians, we have a great responsibility to use our resources and abilities for the glory of Christ.  It isn't wrong to have money, health, and the comforts of this life unless we are holding onto it as our source of joy…unless we are worshiping the gift and not the Giver.  We must use all that the Lord has given us for His glory.  We must be willing to surrender all.  We must take this ministry of reconciliation seriously.  

Are we proclaiming the message of Salvation through Christ alone, or are we implying through our comfortable lives that we can make it on our own?  Are we naming sin for what it is or are we sugar-coating it to keep peace?  Sin is what separates us from a Holy God.  If we follow the way of the world and preach a gospel of tolerance, prosperity, and peace, we are not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is a false gospel, an anti-christ that will only lead those around us to an eternity separated from God.

So, is there an answer to all my questions?  I think each one deserves a serious look and its own research, but the final answer is to keep our eyes on Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, the One that has come to save, to heal the broken-hearted and to set the captives free, the only One that has given us the gift of reconciliation, the only One that is worthy of our praise.

I want to take all that the Lord has shown me and place it as a memorial before my eyes.  I never want to forget.  I don’t know what is next, but I know that the Lord will complete the work He has begun.  He has given me a great compassion for the persecuted church all over the world and I believe He has used these experiences to open the eyes of others as well.  I pray that He will keep my heart softened to His will and my ears sensitive to His calling.