In north central Minnesota, we have a landscape covered with trees and seasons that bring storms with high winds. Combine the two, and you get all sorts of damage: blocked roads, downed power lines and hours of picking up sticks and branches from your yard.
After a recent high-wind event, I was asked to help clear a heavily damaged part of the Northland Trail, which winds through miles of Minnesota forest. Usually, I use heavy equipment, which makes the task less difficult. But because of the nature of the trail, we strapped on our chainsaws and hiked on foot to the wind-torn area. Our job was to restore the trail through the downed trees. As I approached the damaged area, I realized why they asked me to bring a big saw. Large trees lay in a mangled mess, blocking the way.
My good friend Jason and I assessed the situation and weighed our options. Should we follow the trail? Should we try to make a new route around the damage? We decided that Jason would make his way around the damage and find the trail on the other side. We would start on opposite ends of the path and work toward each other, hopefully meeting in the middle.
It was a slow process. Wind-damaged, uprooted trees carry a lot of tension, and each cut has to be done carefully. If you cut too deep and too fast, your chainsaw bar will become pinched, and the work will stop.
My first tree was a large basswood. I slowly cleared out the underbrush and began tackling the tree itself, cutting off the big pieces of the tree and rolling them away by hand. As each piece rolled away, I began to see the trail beneath me. As I worked, I could hear Jason’s saw in the distance, working his way toward me.
Sweat dripping from the brim of my hat, I wondered if we would meet in the middle. It took some time, but we finally cleared the way, creating a small, 4-foot-wide trail for walking again.
The path was restored.
The hurt cuts deep
Just like my friend Jason and I restored the forest path, reconciliation could be explained as connecting two separate, closed-off areas into harmony.
This might sound simple, but the hurt is deep.
The month I was asked to write this feature, a horrible evil affected the state in which I live—a shooting targeting a Christian school. Innocent children were the victims, and the result affected thousands of families. In cases like this, we ask ourselves, “Will we be able to recover from this? Will I be able to forgive?”
How can we experience peace and reconciliation in these multifaceted situations? We hear words such as forgiveness, justice and redemption—but what is the overarching meaning of reconciliation?
Atonement: The foundation of reconciliation
The Bible explains reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:16-19: “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! 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 people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
The Hebrew word for reconciliation is “kaphar,” which means “to cover” or “atone” and signifies the removal of sin to restore a broken relationship, usually between God and humanity. In the New Testament, we find a deepening challenge for us to be reconciled to God as well as to each other.
The Greek word “apokatallasso” means “to reconcile completely” and implies a complete transformation of enmity into friendship, often with an element of restoring something to its original state or bringing a peaceful state to a relationship that has been damaged.
The foundation of reconciliation is the atonement, quite literally the reconciliation of God and humanity through Jesus Christ. Why is this so foundational? Because it explains why Christ had to be obedient to the cross and pay the penalty for my sin. It is the heart of the gospel and the center of our work as leaders.
At one time in history, humans walked with God, talked with him and felt no shame. Humanity was one with God. But out of this perfect place came our fall. Man and woman disobeyed God and ate from the tree. From that point on in Scripture, we see God extending opportunity after opportunity for humanity to come back to himself, ultimately reconciled through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Reconciliation is transformational
In addition to being foundational, we also see the ministry of reconciliation is transformational.
Our church has been studying the transformational power of reconciliation by looking at Saul in Acts 9. Saul was a devout, zealous Jew with a deep desire in his heart to persecute the “blasphemous” Christians—until Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. Saul’s heart changed. His life changed. His mind changed. He did a 180 and allowed the sacrificial work of the cross to “apokatallasso” (completely reconcile) his life to God. By this, Saul brought the gospel message to the Gentiles.
The U.S. Mennonite Brethren Confession of Faith speaks of being deeply rooted in the 16th century evangelical Anabaptist reformation, while striving to recapture the teachings of the New Testament church. I have heard it said that the Mennonite Brethren strive to be a people of The Book we study and live out these teachings in community. In my time of serving Jesus through the MB world, I have experienced this to be true. Has there been hurt? Yes. Has there been division? Yes. Has there been a realization that we need to submit to the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus and his reconciliation? Yes.
In Article 13 of the USMB Confession of Faith, we read how we should live this reconciliation out: “We believe that God in Christ reconciles people to himself and to one another, making peace through the cross. We seek to be agents of reconciliation, to practice love of enemies, and to express Christ’s love by alleviating suffering, reducing strife and promoting justice.”
We live as “agents of reconciliation” so that others may see a demonstration of Christ’s love through us.
One of God’s names in Scripture is “Jehovah Rapha,” which translates “the God who heals.” I find tremendous comfort in knowing that it is by his power that he reconciles us to himself. He provides the way to wholeness in Jesus, the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20).
Therefore and because of this, let’s strap on our boots, clear some paths and work at being agents of reconciliation.
Jesse Swiers is a bi-vocational pastor at Lake Region Mennonite Church in rural Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. He and his wife, Rhonda, have served Lake Region as pastor couple for 13 years. Along with his church responsibilities, Swiers owns and operates JES Wood Products. Jesse and Rhonda have five children.
