Full Restoration – Lent 2018

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, 13:11-14

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send you greetings. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Cor. 13:11-14, CSB).

In today’s devotional, they address reconciliation between members of the church body. This is a bold, yet important step – as we grow in Christ. We can experience reconciliation between ourselves and the Most High God. This is the most important form of reconciliation we could ever experience, but this is not all.

The Lord is sovereign and worship worthy. We can experience reconciliation in our places of church fellowship. Those broken relationships don’t have to stay broken.

Friends, we can truly know the power of Christ. Nothing is off limits for Him. Ephesians 3:20 teaches us that – our great God can do anything He wants to – in our lives. He is the reason for our hope and the extra load of joyful energy as we reach out to people we typically steer clear of.

Some questions –

•  How willing are we to pursue reconciliation inside the Church?
• Is some of that brokenness coming into the relationships due to poverty or injustice?
• How are we bringing this person or relationship to our Risen Lord?
• What practical step can we take, to pursue reconciliation? (Pray first!)

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The goal of today’s study, for me, is to think about restoration. God can restore broken relationships, and make even the “okay-ish” relationships a thousand times better – if left in His hands. 

This is a hard devotion to read and think on, but it is good in the long run that this is being addressed. It’s the pruning that makes things beautiful (see John 15).

In terms of my church relationships, I think I need to be better about how I respond to others’ words or actions. This would be the first step in terms of “what needs reconciliation?”

. . . I want to say “nothing needs reconciliation,” but the truth of the matter is – every church relationship stands in need of a touch from our Mighty Savior. This doesn’t mean that every relationship is a disaster, but it DOES mean I am learning more about the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives. He is able to make things just so much better than we allow. If only, we would surrender these relationships into His loving hands!

I don’t know which one needs complete reconciliation, but know they all need a “full restoration” by our Mighty God.