Everyone can recall an argument they have had, and had to go through the means of resolving the conflict.  Have you considered what should be the motivation to resolve it?

There are many practical reasons, maybe so you don’t hear any complaints from your spouse, boss, co-worker etc.  However that reason can be selfish, because have you considered why God was motivated to solve the conflict between us and Him? Generally we think of resolving a conflict because it will bring us peace, rather than unify so we can walk in greater love and unity with that person…

However, the apostle Paul puts a clause into making peace work with everyone, because he knows that some people refuse to live in forgiveness, desire to embrace chaos, confusion, and division.  So the apostle leaves “an out” for the person who has done what depends upon them to make peace.  That if you have done what you can to try and make peace, and the person rejects it, you leave them to God…

What makes it difficult to make peace, is the humiliation that comes with initiating love to someone we are conflict with. But the measure of our maturity and representation of Jesus rest on this premise. Jesus went to the ultimate extreme to extend the hand of peace and reconciliation towards us, and He didn’t contribute anything to the conflict we had with God!

At the measure of how much the gospel effects our heart, is the measure we’ll operate from it.  If the gospel is not the primary foundation of our love, pride will rule, and conflicts probably never get truly resolved in our hearts.  Fight to recall what lengths God went in extending peace to us, though we never deserved it!

In His Love, Ld