Walking Together with Vision
Uncle Norman Richardson calls us to walk together with vision towards Reconciliation.
Walking Together with Righteousness
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
I would like to suggest that this text (2 Corinthians 5:11-26) stands at the heart of the Church’s mission. It speaks of ‘The Creation and the Ministry of Reconciliation’ and because of that, is challenging and confronting attitudes that for many centuries alienated races, classes and factions of society – and so it should.
Our commission from God is that we as a community are called to embody the righteousness of God in the world. So that reconciliation is made visible in our midst and is shown in practices that show unity, love, mercy, forgiveness and a self-giving grace that the world could not even dream of apart from Christ.
So, this message of reconciliation is not just a vain promise of a distant disembodied future, rather it is a message announcing that God’s work of reconciliation has begun and we are caught up in it.
Take Action
Take action by sharing the history of National Reconciliation Week (#NRW) with a friend, family member, or your church, including #NRW’s Christian heritage. At the same time share why you follow Jesus and why you support being led by Aboriginal Christian Leaders to pursue friendship and Reconciliation in your lifetime.
National Reconciliation Week history can be found here.
Uncle Mark Kickett is a Noongar man from the south west of Western Australia. He was ordained into the ministry of the Baptist Church in the early 1990s and has ministered churches in Brisbane, Perth, Broken Hill, and Kalparrin. He has worked in Government, Community Services, and Churches and has recently served as the State Development Officer for the Uniting Aboriginal & Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) in South Australia and as of April 2020, is the UAICC National Interim Chair. Uncle Mark is father to five adult children and is passionate about sharing the gospel story, Reconciliation, and empowering young Aboriginal people to grow in their faith and leadership skills.
