Here is the issue. It is not about fine-tuning documents; it is not about ecclesial politics; it is about an attitude of the heart — the spirit of reconciliation. Four years ago, members of the Norfolk, Virginia, Ecclesia put their finger on this key issue and supported it with an extensive paper on the “Principles of Reconciliation.” As this Fall we again reach a critical phase in the unity efforts in North America, we submit the following extracts from this paper for the somber consideration of us all. We submit them to our general readership because they are not only useful in resolving century-old fellowship issues, they are also useful in reconciling problems within ecclesias and within families.
- Time doesn’t change the importance of reconciliation. It is a disconcerting realization that the sin of discord can be passed to the third or fourth generation. As children of division, we have the choice to make or break the cycle. We can offer the necessary sacrifice to save our children from growing up with the stigma of a community separated from another of “like precious faith,” or we can perpetuate it. We are compelled to end division for the sake of our children.
- Reconciliation doesn’t need a lot of time, “For the thing was done suddenly” (II Chron. 29:36). It didn’t matter how long the doors of the temple had been stuck shut from disuse, and the Passover ignored. When Hezekiah determined to reconcile the people, it took only eight days. All those of a “free heart” brought a sacrifice to the Lord. Their hearts were not bound up with personal considerations or fettered with fear. Initially, reconciliation only involved the immediate associates of Hezekiah. Israel was invited but remained to be convinced. Only a few responded at first, but afterward “many people came together…a very great assembly.” Likewise, it doesn’t matter how long our communities have been held apart by contention; all those of a “free [or willing] heart” can be of “one heart” and do what the king commands, suddenly.
- Reconciliation is blocked by discord that mutates into tradition. The seventh abomination that God hates is, “a man who sows discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:19). But what of those who cultivate it? And how is it that the same God who “loved the world” hates the one who sows discord? Why is His feeling so strong? The answer may lie in the word “sow.” It has been God’s intent from the start to sow the seed of faith, reaping its fruitfulness in the world. Anything that reverses this process runs against the very purpose of God. In addition to spreading discord in the field around him, the sower also propagates it for future generations. The seed of discord then spreads still further in the “wind of doctrine.” The traditions of men are not only contagious, they are socially genetic. We inherit wrong attitudes as easily as we inherit false doctrine. Discord mutates into family or church tradition, and tradition can be taught for doctrine and has been for 2,000 years in the apostate church. Every Christadelphian recognizes the tendency for schism to be sown from generation to generation. We know that contentions are passed from fathers to children. And we know that it is a legacy unforgiven if unrepented of, when it is between brethren. As God hates the sower, he surely hates the cultivator of discord. Reconciliation converts discord to fruit.
- If it is true that “only by pride cometh contention” (Prov. 13:10), then it follows that only by humility comes reconciliation. Pride is like fault. It only seems to lie in the other person. Everyone recognizes that there has been contention among Christadelphians for a hundred years. Yet mysteriously, the fault is always somewhere else. So “let a man examine himself.” Each of us should examine only ourselves to discover how in all this we might be contributing to contention. When we are humble enough to admit our part of the problem without insisting on isolating the fault of others, reconciliation naturally follows.
- In every place where reconciliation has been set aside for a century, the fire of controversy has never yet said enough. It is an example of “the fire which never says enough” (Prov. 30:16). At what point do we say “enough” to this great hurt in our midst? It is time now to say enough, and end divisions wherever they are, lest the Lord returns to find us burning the forest instead of the lamp.
- Divorce and discord are the same. God hates them both. Reconciliation cures them both. “Irreconcilable differences” is a term of humanism, a term of breech, an accommodation of the flesh. No follower of Christ should ever be found using the reasoning of the world to justify a sin that degrades the glory of God as much as disunity among brethren. God’s “hatred” of human wickedness is utter enmity against it. Hatred is the strongest opposition cited by God against various forms of evil. For God to say that he hates discord and divorce means that they directly and entirely violate His righteousness. It also means that for us to disregard His command to reconciliation is an unacceptable level of indifference to His word. If we love God, we hate the things He hates. If we love righteousness, we love reconciliation.
- Reconciliation follows regard for the prayer of our Lord Jesus, “that they may be one” (John 17:22). As Christ approached his great agony and still greater victory, his most earnest desire was that his followers should “be one.” Even as he was one with his Father. Being one, they would make a testimony of love and righteousness by which the Truth could be proclaimed to a dark world. By being one, they would continue the reconciliation he demonstrated. Can we disregard his prayer and nullify in ourselves the glory he shared with his Father?
- Reconciliation isn’t much of an issue where there is no preaching. Christ wants his followers to be one “that the world may know that thou hast sent me” (John 17:23). According to the Lord, our “being one” is important because of the world’s perception. Jesus knew that the ministry he was appointing would be dependent upon the unity of his followers. Our relationship with each other is part of our testimony to the world. Jesus specifically states this when he prayed that we “be one.” His reason is “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21). In other words, the importance of unity is that it affects the perception the world has of Christ by the testimony of our beliefs and behavior. Furthermore, the implication made by Jesus is that the world may not know that he is “the son of the Living God” to the extent that there is schism among us. Being of a desire to preach the Truth, we cannot accept the stigma of division in the background of our testimony.
- If we love the brotherhood, we will reconcile for the sake of its strength. It is so simple. “Love the brotherhood” (I Pet. 2:17). What is love of the brotherhood, but love of the one body? The brotherhood is the whole body of Christ. We don’t know it on any other basis than its composition from faith. There is only One Faith. That Faith is the assurance of the kingdom, and the conviction that God’s own Son is the living savior of this world. Those who believe in the gospel, its promises, its diligent seeking, its accountability, and its reward, are brethren. They compose the brotherhood. All are beloved of the Lord. They love His word. They believe the Truth. Love the brethren who love the Truth. Love the brotherhood in reconciliation.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One