Every one of us have been hurt one time or the other by our spouses, family members, colleagues, friends or business partners and have even had secret thoughts of retaliating or hurting them back somehow. Even if we had not done anything to get even with them, thoughts of revenge have definitely at times troubled us. And sometimes we could have succeeded in showing our displeasure by given them a cold shoulder. By doing so we would have even secretly rejoiced that we have somehow taught them a good lesson. But is that the kind of behaviour that God expects from us? Definitely not. Our thought for reflection this Tuesday morning is, “Our God Expects Us to Put Aside Our Self and to be Reconciled with Everyone.”
“He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.”
(Genesis 33:3-4)
Just as God has graciously and unconditionally reconciled us to Him through His son Jesus Christ, He expect us to be reconciled with others. Genesis 33 portrays a beautiful picture of Biblical reconciliation between two estranged brothers who had not met for twenty over years due the enmity between them. It was Jacob’s reconciliation with God at Peniel (Genesis 32:24-32) that enabled him to reconcile with his Esau. That was a new beginning in Jacob’s spiritual journey.
1. Reconciliation demands REJECTION OF PRIDE.
Pride and ego are the two worst enemies of reconciliation. It is pride that tells us that we are always right and others are always wrong. The only antidote to pride is humility and that comes only when we realize who we are in the sight of God. Jacob was put in his right place by God and was made to realize that he had wronged his brother. That was the reason why Jacob, who always thought he was right and superior, humbled himself before his brother Esau. Three times Jacob mentioned that his aim was to “find favour” with Esau (Genesis 33:8, 10, 15). Later,
“He himself went ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother”
(Genesis 34:3).
Do we always think that only we are right and others are wrong? Could it be our pride that has been preventing us from reconciling with others?
2. Reconciliation demands REAL ACCEPTANCE.
It is surprising to find Esau who in spite of his capacity to harm Jacob, ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck and kissed him (Genesis 33:4). The unreserved and unconditional manner in which Esau accepted Jacob revealed that he did not hold any more animosity towards his brother. This reminds us of the reconciliation between the prodigal son and his father in Luke 15:20. Esau’s unusual friendly acceptance and unreserved reconciliation shows his maturity. Are our reservations and pre-conditions hindering us from reconciling with others?
Did not Apostle Paul say,
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God?”
(Romans 15:7)
Realizing God’s acceptance of us as we are, and reconciling with us, shall we, this morning, put aside our pride and humbly decide to reconcile with others? Let’s pray:
“Dear Lord, forgive my ego and pride that have made me to harbour hatred and ill feelings towards others. Fill me with your love and the spirit of humility and enable me to accept others as you accepted me. Give me the grace to reconcile with others as you reconciled me with you.
In Jesus’s name,... Amen!”
Blessed day!