This is a time of year when friends and family typically gather and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year has been and probably will be different in many ways for Christmas. One thing that is especially sad, but not unique to 2020 is how often those that we need the most, we push away the most. Small misunderstandings turn into grudges which are allowed to fester and become seeds of bitterness. The end result is family members go months and sometimes years without talking to each other. While I will admit that family can be dysfunctional, they are also often the people who can be there for you the most and help you through difficult times. The apostle Paul knew the power of reconciliation and restoration. He knew it because God had reconciled Paul to Himself through Jesus. But we see another reconciliation and restoration in Paul’s life. Years before our text, Paul and Barnabas split over a dispute concerning a traveling companion named Mark (Acts 15). We don’t read about any further interactions between Paul and Mark until the end of Paul’s life here in 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy 4:11 says, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in ministry.” We don’t know how or when these two reconciled, but the text makes it clear that they had. Paul goes as far as to say that Mark is useful to him. This gives us a powerful picture of the Gospel and how it can reconcile not only God and man, but people as well. Why is this important?
It is important for a few reasons. First, as Christians we are called to be in the business of the ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Cor. 5). To reconcile means to bring two opposing parties into agreement. This must first be done between us and God. The only way that relationship can be reconciled is for you and I to admit that we are the offending party, and to surrender in faith to God’s grace as the only way we can be saved. After this, we need to do everything we can to live at peace with all people as Paul says in Romans 12:18. This means that we willingly overlook offenses and freely offer forgiveness. The second reason this text is important is the witness it gives to a watching world. When you willingly lay down a grudge, and choose instead to forgive and love; you are demonstrating the power of the Gospel. You are saying that in Christ, all offenses are removed and rendered powerless over us. You are declaring that the person is worth more than being right or being vindicated. Finally, it is powerful for your life. Nothing will rob you of joy and vitality like holding a grudge. While you sit and stew over whatever happened, the other person typically has moved on with their life. In some cases, they don’t even realize or remember what happened. Unresolved conflict has led many families to split when they needed to be with each other.
I’m not going to pretend to know all the dynamics of your family or all the nuances of the situation that has led you to where you are. But I do know the power of the Gospel to reconcile and to heal. And in a time in which we seemingly can’t be together, families need each other more than ever. Life is too precious to hold onto a grudge. Don’t let your last words to a loved one be angry words, or worse, no words at all. Surrender the hurt to Jesus, ask for His help and power to forgive so that you can be reconciled and restored to those you are far from right now. That’s a present that money can never buy, and a present that will far outlast the latest and greatest tech gadgets of this Christmas season.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin