Quotes about Reconciliation

C. S. Lewis wrote, "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." Jesus said if your brother "sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him" (Luke 17:4).

Religion professor Albert Wolters, in Creation Regained, writes, "[God] hangs on to his fallen original creation and salvages it. He refuses to abandon the work of his hands—in fact, he sacrifices his own Son to save his original project. Humankind, which has botched its original mandate and the whole creation along with it, is given another chance in Christ; we are reinstated as God's managers on earth. The original good creation is to be restored."74

Once we've been reconciled to God, we can do something more about our happiness by doing what happy people do. Happiness doesn't precede giving and serving; it accompanies and follows it.

To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

The love of God shows us that God alone bridges the distance between him and us, enabling us to see this world through Calvary.

It was not just the prodigal in the far-off country who squandered the love of the father; the older brother lost out as well, though he was close to the father's love.

Someone has said that our sin scorches us most after we have received forgiveness, and not before. Once you realize how much you've been forgiven, you see how great that forgiveness really is.

Do yourself a favor and forgive anyone that has anything against you. Do it as an act of faith and trust God to change and heal your emotions. Pray for your enemies and never say another unkind thing about them. It is the only way you can move past the pain and begin to heal.

Justified means just as if you've never sinned.

Staying angry at someone who has hurt you is like taking poison hoping that your enemy will die.

If you're angry at a loved one, hug that person. And mean it. You may not want to hug — which is all the more reason to do so. It's hard to stay angry when someone shows they love you, and that's precisely what happens when we hug each other.

Hans Walter Wolff has suggested that the Sabbath is the great equalizer, for that day is a foretaste of the kingdom when all-great and small-are reckoned to be exactly equal .2' All-masters and slaves-are to engage in this most godlike activity of being at peace.