Reconcile if you can

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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.                2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Reconciliation with someone who has become estranged from you is not always possible. There are times when you desperately want to be reconciled, yet in spite of your prayers, tears and pleas, the other person still walks away from you, leaving you with feelings of guilt.

So what do you do when you have tried to reconcile, and it hasn’t happened? Do you live with the burden of guilt, or find God’s grace to move on?

First, you need to make sure your relationship with God is right, that you are reconciled with Him. As Isaiah puts it, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Sometimes difficulty forces you to look in the mirror and realign yourself with God’s will for your life. This means saying, “Lord, forgive me. I ask for Your help and forgiveness.”

Then, get up off your knees and know that you are free of your burden. No, your situation hasn’t changed. You have. No longer will you feel guilt and you can now find God’s grace to move on. There is tremendous freedom in putting something you cannot change in God’s hands. He is the only one who can turn hearts back to Himself and back to you.

At this point do you give up on ever being reconciled? No, not for a moment. You wait, expecting God to honor your prayers and trust Him. How long do you wait? As long as necessary for God to change the heart of the person who walked away from you.

Reconcile if you can. But if you can’t, trust God for His grace to help you do the right thing and wait for Him to act.

But when the kindess and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. Titus 3:4-8a