it shall be reconciled
Carter Phillips climbs in Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
If Christians took seriously Jesus’ very simple instructions in Matthew 18:15-20 and actually followed them, perhaps 99% of problems in the local church, including those PARADED as doctrinal, would be resolved. Sadly, we don’t follow these instructions, and once strong relationships in ministry sometimes crumble to dust. It’s a sad reality of the Christian life and of Christian ministry and will be so until our Lord returns.
Notwithstanding and HALLELUJAH: all such fallings-out SHALL BE RECONCILED, even though it may have to wait until the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I rejoice when I think of sitting down one day in the Kingdom of God with those I once labored together with in ministry, those who now have absolutely nothing to do with me while I still don’t know what I ever did to make them go from loving me as a brother one morning and waking up the next to avoid me me like a plague of leprosy. I’m talking about genuine brethren here, those who without a doubt fear God and believe and preach the Gospel. I rejoice to know that we shall be together one day in that great throng around the Throne … and we shall be reconciled in the Body of Christ.
My friends, if you’ve had a falling out with a brother or sister in Christ that seemingly cannot or will not be reconciled this side of eternity, don’t hate your brother. Don’t despise your brother. And, don’t by any means cancel in your mind the good times you once shared in ministry and the wise counsel and/or exhortation and the good fruit once produced from that relationship. Even if a dear brother in Christ now seems no more than just somebody else you used to know, if such an one once taught you something or helped you in something, he is still your teacher and your helper. Praise God for that, and never forget to pray for reconciliation (you may have tried everything else, but always keep praying). A martial arts master once said, “Even a bad teacher is a teacher. Honor, therefore, all those who have taught you something.”
Why am I saying all this? Well, there was a brother in Christ who used to be one of my closest friends. We shared many adventures together for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. One day, he decided he didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. As I pleaded with him for biblical reconciliation, standing in the middle of a gravel road, he drove off spraying me with dust. I have never seen him again. This brother had a good ministry, and I pray even today it still prospers in the Gospel. This brother also taught me almost everything I know about rock climbing. He liked to be in charge out on the rock, and it wasn’t always fun to climb with him. And yet, something he used to repeat over and over again literally saved my life yesterday, all these many years later. “Never trust a single anchor. Always have TWO anchor points,” he would say … like a broken record.
Admittingly, I hadn’t thought about this brother in a long time. But yesterday, while climbing with my daughter and son-in-law in Spearfish Canyon, I decided to transfer our anchor at the top of one route to another anchor across the cliff to my right. The next route we wanted to try would be difficult to lead climb, so I figured I could traverse over and set up a top-rope. I did so while roped in with Carter on belay feeding me slack. A fall would have meant a good swing, but the rope was secure. When I got close enough to the other anchor, I reached over and attached myself via a personal anchor. It seemed strong and I thought to instruct Carter to take me off belay as I was secure at the new spot. It was at this moment the LORD reminded me of my brother in Christ, what he used to say: “Never trust a single anchor. Always have TWO anchor points.” I could hear him in my head. I reasoned he was right and therefore didn’t instruct Carter to come off belay. “Just give me a little more slack,” I said. I then swung over to put my weight on the new anchor point. SNAP! That personal anchor came off the bolt. I fell about 10-15 feet and swung hard, smashing my ankle on the rock and spraining it nicely. As I hung there, I could only bow my head and worship (like Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24). Had it not been for the voice of an old friend (now seemingly just someone I used to know) in my head …. I would be dead today. Carter was on belay, and he caught the fall. Oh yeah, it yanked him off the ground, but he kept the belay steady and did his job.
Truly, the Lord reminded me in the moments prior to that fall of a teacher’s sound instruction from long ago, and it saved my life. I wake up this morning praising Him anew for that relationship, for all those shared adventures in the Gospel, and for all I learned during those years. More importantly, I am compelled anew to pray for a brother in Christ who I literally haven’t thought about in a long, long time.
Be ye reconciled to your brother. But if he is unwilling, or it seems out of reach this side of that Marriage Supper of the Lamb, don’t despise your brother. Be thankful for the good times and for the good instruction whereby iron sharpened iron. If you refuse to allow it, no dispute or conflict can ever take those things away. And one day, all will truly be reconciled in the Body of Christ.
Wow, it just came into my mind how I met this brother in the first place. It was in Death Valley, California. I didn’t get my way in something, and I was aggravated. Because I didn’t get my way, I was forced to work with this complete stranger and wasn’t happy about it. But then, we began to talk and discovered that we had once been in Kathmandu at the same time. The rest is history … and I am alive today. It seems the LORD still has some use for me.
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable arehis judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).