Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

2 Corinthians 5:18 (ESV)

 

The spiritual health of a church is more essential than its size.

We can spend so much time filling up seats that we forget to care for one another. This “forgetfulness” and other little issues can creep in and produce tensions and conflicts among fellow believers. When there are differences among us, we must remember that Christ has already torn down the dividing wall of estrangement, hatred, and discrimination that separates us. In doing so, Christ desires for us to be His healing agents, and our communities to be healing spaces and sanctuaries. In other words, we are all called to be peacemakers and ministers of reconciliation in whatever capacity we can.

If we want to maintain the overall spiritual health and well-being of our community, we don’t hide our wounds or pretend that we are all right when everything inside feels so raw and painful. However, we are often fearful of others and hide our wounds from them because we do not want to be hurt, angered, or disappointed further. We must accept that we cannot wish our wounds away. Unhealed wounds must be healed, or we will pass our pain on to others.

The abused often become the abuser.

All of us have been victimised at some points and in some places. We can, however, accept responsibility for our own part in it. We can work it out with health professionals or with our peers, but we must learn to grow out of our hurt and break the cycle.

The ministry of reconciliation is an essential function of any church community. The wound of Christ is the source of our healing and wholeness. Our wounds do not incapacitate us from healing ourselves and others when we are captivated by His love and empowered by His life. Not all of our wounds heal at the same time or in the same order. However, if we surrender fully to the gospel and trust Christ to complete His redemptive work in us, we will discover healing for our wounds and become wounded healers to one another, despite our problems and differences.