3. Building Bridges

I think for however long it takes, I am going to be writing about the hot topic of reconciliation. Mostly because I am trying to figure out how I feel about it. So, giant warning- this will be long. Today for my attempt at spending time with God, I decided I wanted to find some verses about reconciliation. This idea grabbed my attention the other day when a Foolish Things song came on my iPod. In "Find Your Way Back" there is this part in the song where the lyrics say "If my death can build a bridge for them, I'll bring them back to you." A few years ago, my dad and I were talking and he asked me if I knew what reconciliation was. And like, to be honest, its one of those words that you hear all the time, and you get the basic idea, but I didn't even know where to begin how to define it. He told me that all it is is building a bridge. And that has really stuck with me. So, when I heard those lyrics again in the song, I was reminded about the basic truth of the concept. It has thus sparked a number of different thoughts on the subject that I would like to share. I. True reconciliation- like the me-Jesus-God kind. II. What the heck is human reconciliation? III. Is it even possible? Is it even something worth trying for? So, numero I: Romans 5:10- "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Very true. I can picture the whole scene of me, being the sinner I am, like hanging off a cliff or trapped on the side of a mountain or something and God and all His glory is across the valley on a glamorous mountain. Jesus is the bridge that gets me there. It's that simple. numero II: But how does reconciliation work on earth? And why does Bethel's chapel seem to be drowning in their goal to obtain it? To be honest, I am sick of it. It hardly seems like the same thing at all. I feel like because Christ reconciled us to his Father, we in turn have the opportunity to be reconciled to our "brothers and sisters" on earth. But does that mean all be in agreement on absolutely everything? Like little perfect Christian robots that are represented by every color of the rainbow and nation and tribe and ethnicity? I hope not. The bible says, "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10) I feel like maybe what Bethel is doing is adopting verses like this one as some kind of divine obsession. But that is not what the context says to me in my reading of this verse. It's talking about how anyone could divide Christ. You just can't. Reconciliation to me is about healing. About reaching the unreachable. But we can't do it on our human effort. I certainly can't climb my way to Heaven or figure out my own way to escape sin to reach God. So, what are we trying to reconcile in chapel on MWF at 10? And why do certain people think that everyone is prejudice against anyone different? Just like how the Bible has verses about us avoiding division, at the same time, it has verses about being different. The simplest example I can think of is Romans 12 and the different parts of the body. God created us all differently. For a reason! What a boring earth if we all walked around doing the same thing. And what about this thought- how boring would it be for God if we all worshipped Him the same way. I love the idea of incorporating cool things from other cultures into our typical worship services. But only if we understand. The direction Bethel is going in chapel is missing the point to me. The student body is not against diversity or witnessing how other God followers worship Him. But I am against witnessing a worship service that is not authentic. It's a waste of my time, and more importantly, I think it is a waste of God's time. Especially when it makes me look like the bad guy and is defended by words like "reconciliation". I don't hate reconciliation!!!! I couldn't be more grateful for Christ's death- it's what allows me to know God! numero III: But I just cannot figure out how we are supposed to mimic such an incredible gift like that on earth. What Jesus did on the cross cannot be repeated. We'll never match that act of selflessness. Jesus took our sins to bring us to God. How is that the same as loving our neighbor and foreign brother and learning to adopt their worship style as our own because we are reconciled? They shouldn't have to adopt my worship style either. We can support each other by recognizing how creative God is and how cool it is that we get to worship him in hundreds of different languages and rhythms. And I personally think hearing the Bible spoken in a different language is beautiful. It makes me so excited to be a believer. But I am sick of standing in a room full of white people being asked to raise my hands and dance around to a song that should be sung by black people. God gifted them with amazing gospel talents that are so much fun to listen to and partake in. And I don't doubt that I could worship God that way when it feels real to me. But I think living at peace with one another is easier than some are trying to make it. At least living in peace as Christians. We should support one another in our individual relationships with God. We need to make sure our Christian friends have made their way on to the bridge Jesus built and made available. And for me, it is going to be different than a fellow believer from Asia or Africa or wherever the heck in this world they might be from. I have found the bridge! And I want to stay on it! Pretending to be from another culture won't plant me on the bridge better. I crave something that will encourage me in my walk across the bridge. And sometimes that is pure silence. Just listening to God or waiting for Him to speak. I don't think we're going to find this selfless and perfect reconciliation from Romans 5:10 here in our earthly relationships. And I honestly think maybe we should stop trying. Living at peace with one another is a completely different story. And appreciating other cultures is an entirely different story. Like from an entirely different book. You can disagree with me. But if you do, help me figure out why. Because I am not convinced we're headed in the right direction if we are going to be focusing on reconciliation on earth.