Walking Together with Purpose

Walking Together with Purpose

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18

I've been asked to share a little about reconciliation and what I think reconciliation is. I hope this will encourage people as they grapple with this very important subject. 

My understanding of reconciliation is that there are two types: Biblical Reconciliation, which is outlined in 2 Corinthians Chapter 5; and Secular Reconciliation, which the world today is seeking to grasp and seeks to implement.

Paul, in writing to the Corinthian Church says that ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.’ So the work of reconciliation has nothing to do with man. It's all of God! The work of reconciliation is God’s work. That is ‘Biblical Reconciliation’. It is a positional truth. It shows how we have a relationship with God through His son. It removes the human element from the equation, whereas ‘Secular Reconciliation’ is based on a reciprocal arrangement. It says, If you do something for me and I reciprocate and do something for you, then we can be one. Biblical Reconciliation says that it’s not what I do for you or what you do for me that makes us one, it’s what Christ has done for both of us, one.

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Today is Pentecost Sunday when we remember the pouring out of God’s Spirit on all peoples. Since the work of reconciliation is God’s work, let us call on God, by the power of his Holy Spirit to bring healing in these lands now called Australia. 

Spend time in prayer today for Reconciliation. You may want to use this Reconciliation Prayer from Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group. View other Aboriginal prayer resources here. 

Uncle Neville Naden is currently the Indigenous Ministry Officer for Bush Church Aid. Together with his wife Kathie, Neville seeks to support those at the coal face who minister to our First Nations people, many of whom live in rural and remote communities.