God forgives abundantly.

And another thing!

God forgives abundantly. That is absolutely, 100% true. We are new creations in Christ, as 2 Corinthians 5 says, and we are entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation.

What does it mean for us to be reconciled to each other? Specifically, what does it mean for us to be in community with people who have hurt us, or with people we have hurt?

There’s no easy answer to this. I've gotten to work with many churches, and seen a lot of sin. Some sins are easily forgiven. Some are disruptive to the community. In order for the church to be a safe place for the wounded, sometimes reconciliation looks like living with boundaries.

For churches that have a sex offender as a regular attender, it is appropriate for there to be a covenant between church leadership and the sibling in Christ in question. Repentance is a lifelong act.

For worshipers who have been hurt by the church, it is appropriate for them to worship somewhere they feel safe and appreciated. Even if that means their own living room for a season.

For siblings in Christ who have been hurt, it is appropriate to take time to heal. Deep wounds take time and reconciliation can, too.

For families that have been broken, it is appropriate to be awkward sometimes. Sit apart if you need to. Sit together if that feels right. Just don’t make things worse for the children, okay?

For political divides, it is appropriate to argue for your viewpoint, but it isn’t appropriate to dehumanize others, whether or not they can hear you.

We are called to the ministry of reconciliation. In the wounded world we live in, that doesn’t mean that everything is going to be easy. It doesn’t mean that we brush big things under the rug. It doesn’t mean that we put vulnerable people at risk.

The ministry of reconciliation means that we have the hard conversations. It means that we work on ourselves, to get that log out of our eye before we go after the splinter in someone else’s. It means that we hope for the best, we expect the best, and we know that Jesus surpasses our best every single time.

Let’s do this work so that we can be our full selves. Let’s do this work so that the church can welcome everyone. Let’s do this work to glorify Jesus. Christ will reconcile all things to himself; in the meantime, the ministry is ours to do as best we can alongside our God.