Pastor's letter • FEBRUARY 5, 2017

Have you ever been angry with someone?  Of course you have, as have I.  Have you ever had a “pretend” argument with them?  You know the kind I am talking about, where you may be driving somewhere but this person is on your mind and you find yourself arguing with them in your imagination.  I am sure in some ways it can be of psychological benefit to process the situation; however, it usually just adds to the pile of unresolved dirty laundry within the hallways of our mind.  Unresolved anger leads to bitterness, which left untreated is profoundly destructive to our entire well-being.
 
From Genesis to Revelation, we have the picture of God asserting the incredible importance of human relationships.  First and foremost, on humanity’s relationship with God, but it does not end there.  It was not "good" for Adam to be alone, so God created Eve.  Following the Fall, we see almost immediately the Adversary seeking to break down the bond of loving, healthy relationship.  Adam not only blamed Eve, but also blamed God for giving Eve to him!  Their children were stricken with jealousy, bitterness, and simmering rage that ended up in one son, Cain, murdering his brother, Abel.
 
Throughout the Scriptures, we have special emphasis placed upon various human interactions: Spousal relationships; Parent/Child relationships; Friendships; Young people and their Elders; relationships with “outsiders”; and of course, the Body of Christ with itself.  Some relationships are good, some are bad.  Because we are fallen creatures, none are perfect, and all we require forgiveness and reconciliation at one time or another.
 
Furthermore, beginning in the Garden and culminating in the Throne Room of Heaven, the Word of God portrays the story of a Creator who is actively seeking to restore His Creation back to Himself.  He is intelligently, subtly, and sometimes dramatically, pursuing humanity one soul at a time and seeking to restore the perfection of a healthy relationship.  First, between Himself and individual souls, and then within the Human Family itself.  Therefore, isn’t it the logical path of the Gospel, that the Lord God should give to Christ, and by extension, His Body, this precious MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION…
 
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV - All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
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