Reconciliation: The Only Remedy for Painful Rejection

Someone has already walked before us on the painful path of life and its rejections, to make our walk one of harmony with our fellow man and our Creator. by John Ross Schroeder

We were created to develop deep, long-lasting relationships with one another. When those bonds are severed we feel incomplete, isolated and without purpose. But how does one begin the healing process? Human empathy can be very helpful and is often essential to positive progress. However, the one providing the empathy is sometimes limited in his or her capacity to completely understand and identify with the wounded spirit. A proverb says: "The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?" (Proverbs 18:14). So who is the ultimate comforter and helper? Who can transcend mere human help and lift us out of our despair? The truest consolation one can receive is to know there is a godly individual willing to help, One who Himself experienced ultimate rejection. Scripture shows He was "rejected by men" and "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," (Isaiah 53:3). He even knew what it was like to face rejection by His own people. "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). Knowledge of this "Man of sorrows"-unique among human beings-and the realization that He suffered the most brutal sort of rejection and successfully overcame it, brings us much closer to the healing we are seeking. The great reconciliation How can we reconstruct broken bonds and rebuild right relationships? How can we be reconciled to other men and women-and to our Creator? Scripture tells us that God desires a relationship with us, "but your iniquities have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). In order to fulfill His great purpose, and to reconcile human beings to their Creator, the penalty for breaking God's law had to paid. Someone had to redeem humankind. And the Being chosen to bring to pass this magnificent reconciliation experienced what it meant to be rejected-how it struck at the very core of one's being. Enter Jesus Christ into the world. Ironically, at perhaps the most dramatic moment in human history-His crucifixion-Christ cried out to His Father, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). This occurred at the very time when the gulf between God and man was about to be bridged. But because of what Jesus Christ represented for those few brief moments-the sins of all humanity-His Father had to turn His back on Him. He who did no sin became sin for all of us (2Corinthians 5:21). Though He was familiar with the rejection of men, to that point He had always been fully at one with the Father. Of course, Christ was completely and totally restored and reconciled to the Father after His resurrection and ascension. Clearly, the feelings of rejection Christ faced as a human being have been crucial in helping Him understand the rejection we human beings experience from time to time. As Hebrews 4:15 tells us, "We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Sin-biblically defined as "the transgression of the law" (1John 3:4, King James Version)-is often an intrinsic part of rejection and a major barrier to reconciliation and rebuilding right relationships. God Himself suffered because of our sins. Christ the Creator (Ephesians 3:9) took the sins of humanity on His shoulders. So we have a very merciful advocate in our Savior, "who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity" (Hebrews 5:2, KJV). Reconciliation requires forgiveness. Men and women sin and fail; they despair and lose faith; yet somehow they must repent and be reconciled to their Creator. Only God can absolve this sin and remove our guilt and suffering. And this is possible only through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote that "God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2Corinthians 5:19). Symbols of reconciliation This forgiveness and reconciliation is depicted for us in Jesus Christ's final hours with His disciples, when He observed the Passover with them the night before His death. "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1Corinthians 11:23-26). The wine symbolized Christ's blood, "shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). God forgives our sins through that shed blood, cleansing us so we may be reconciled to God (1John 1:7). The bread Jesus shared represented a new way of life based on a personal relationship with Him. "I am the bread of life . . . This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die . . . If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:48-51). From resentment to reconciliation But return for a moment to the human level. Although the Bible shows that the first and great commandment is to love God, the second one is to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). Reconciliation to God goes together with reconciliation to other human beings (Matthew 6:15). The two go hand in hand. Yet sometimes we simultaneously bless God and curse men who are made in His likeness (James 3:9-10). Rejection and resentment must be overcome! But only God through Jesus Christ can help us fully divest ourselves of its unfortunate fruits. That is the only way we can have the true reconciliation to our fellow men and women so essential for our well-being. Such reconciliation, however, because we are flawed human beings, has a spiritual dimension: "Through Him (Jesus Christ) we . . . have access by one Spirit to the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). God's Spirit helps heal serious breaches between human beings. It is the Spirit of reassurance and reconciliation. It is the Spirit of tolerance and cooperation. It is the Spirit of mutual acceptance. Of course, realistically some relationship dilemmas will not be fully resolved in this age of man. Complete reconciliation-of God to man and man to man-will have to wait until Jesus Christ's reign on earth. For us now, however, Paul's instruction is: "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18). The ministry of reconciliation In past ages only a tiny minority of human beings have been reconciled to God. Most have rejected Him, have been simply indifferent, or have failed to recognize Him. Even today only a relatively small minority have a true understanding of God's plan of salvation. In the Bible they are called "the firstfruits." But ultimately everyone will find the path of reconciliation to God. And most-all who allow themselves to be made willing-will walk down it. But the Creator will never take away our freedom of choice; He will never force salvation on us. The apostle Paul understood that God is working out His marvelous plan a step at a time. Men and women will gradually become reconciled to God in increasing numbers as the scroll of time unfolds. With this wonderful understanding Paul wrote, "For it pleased the Father . . . to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him (Christ), whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:19-20). So the wonderful phenomenon of reconciliation also takes place on a plane of cosmic proportions. For instance, Paul tells us that God "has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2Corinthians 5:18, second part). This apostle also calls it "the word of reconciliation" (verse 19), aptly referring to Christians as "ambassadors for Christ" (verse 20). This magnificent ministry has a strong personal aspect. Recognition, acceptance, encouragement, forgiveness and friendship are all important facets of reconciliation. We must always consider each other's needs. This is the positive way of thinking that God requires. In such cases, when rejection comes, sometimes as a result of our own flaws and failings, the Christian will try to ease the pain. He or she will try to smooth the way to reconciliation. The rewards for reconciliation are infinite! No human life is complete without it. Please look at our free booklets, The Road to Eternal Life, The Gospel of the Kingdom and God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind. They explain how this reassuring reconciliation of God and man will come about. GN (c) 1998 United Church of God, an International Association

The Ultimate Rejection God Himself experienced painful rejection almost from the time of man's creation. He made Adam and Eve in the deepest hope of a happy and successful relationship. They were created in His own image. He ardently wished for their total success. He wanted them to make the right choices that would lead them to the abundant life now - and eventually eternal life in His Kingdom. But they chose another way, as did their descendants. Roughly 1,700 years after Adam and Eve, the vast majority of mankind had completely jumped the track. The jewel in the crown of God's creation, the ones with whom He personally identified, those He had lovingly made in His own image, had overwhelmingly turned their back on Him. How do you think our Creator felt at this critical juncture in human history? ìAnd the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heartî (Genesis 6:6). God felt the deepest of emotions toward His wayward sons and daughters. At the time of the flood He knew what it was like to experience loss and rejection. Yet God continued to work with mankind. Later He started a great work with one man, Abraham, which continued through his progeny. Eventually these people grew into the nation of Israel. God nurtured Israel in the wilderness after delivering the nation from the cruelty of human bondage in ancient Egypt. But they never wholeheartedly responded. Some 500 years passed, and little changed in the way of human nature. Humanity still could not seem to see what God wanted them to perceive. Once again He was rejected by His own nation. They wanted a human king instead. In great disappointment God told His prophet Samuel: ìHeed the voice of the people in all that they say unto you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over themî (1Samuel 8:7). Throughout human history the nations have rejected God's blessings for the empty shell of a way of life that has produced enormous pain and suffering, turning their backs on the One who alone could give them justice and peace. -- John Ross Schroeder