“Taking the First Step”
By
Poh Fang Chia
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. 2 Corinthians 5:19
Tham Dashu sensed something was missing in his life. So he started going to church—the same church his daughter attended. But they never went together. In earlier days, he had offended her, which drove a wedge between them. So, Tham would slip in when the singing started and leave promptly after the service ended.
Church members shared the gospel story with him, but Tham always politely rejected their invitation to put his faith in Jesus. Still, he kept coming to church.
One day Tham fell gravely ill. His daughter plucked up the courage and wrote him a letter. She shared how Christ had changed her life, and she sought reconciliation with her dad. That night, Tham put his faith in Jesus and the family was reconciled. A few days later, Tham died and entered into the presence of Jesus—at peace with God and his loved ones.
The apostle Paul wrote that we are to “try to persuade others” about the truth of God’s love and forgiveness (2 Cor. 5:11). He said that it is “Christ’s love [that] compels us” to carry out His work of reconciliation (v. 14).
Our willingness to forgive may help others realize that God desires to reconcile us to Himself (v. 19). Would you lean on God’s strength to show them His love today?
Is there someone you need to try to reconcile with? What practical first step can you take today?
Our willingness to seek reconciliation with others shows God’s heart to them.
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PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS. We have ridiculed the absolute truth of God's word and called it 'pluralism'. We have worshipped other gods and said 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar'. We have endorsed pervertion and called it 'alternative life style'. We have exploited the poor and called it 'lottery'. We have rewarded laziness and called it 'welfare'. We have committed adultery and called it 'playing around'. We have committed fornication and called it 'having fun'. We have killed unborn children and called it 'choice'. We neglected to discipline our children and called it 'building self esteem'. We have abused power and called it 'politics'. We have converted our neighbour's property and called it 'ambition'. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it 'freedom of expression'. We have ...
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