Reconciliation Is God’s Balm… Hello Hump Day readers. I hope you are enjoying a beautiful June day! We have some rain right now but no one is upset, it’s so dry we just keep asking God to rain down that precious water we all need, especially for our hard-working farmers, rivers, and so much more.

I’ve always liked to read Ernest Hemingway’s stories. His widely quoted lines across his novels, letters, and personal legends show a man who is “in the middle” mostly because of his 3 sons—from two marriages. Their relationships with him were deeply complicated. He shared a uniquely loving, close bond with Patrick, but his relationships with his oldest son Jack and youngest son Gregory were often strained and estranged from the family. It was a see-saw of trying to reconcile and it mostly wound up with deep difficulty. Here is a story he wrote about reconciliation and fatherly love:

“In his short story called ‘The Capital of the World’, Hemingway tells the story of Paco, a young man in Spain who runs away from home. His father hopes he will return quickly, but that doesn’t happen—there goes another ‘prodigal son’. The shame, guilt and regret he feels prevents Paco from returning home to his father. Paco doesn’t know that his father has been searching for him ever since he left! So, Paco’s father puts an advertisement in the local newspaper of Madrid, El Liberal. It reads: “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven! Love, your Papa.” But Paco is a common name in Spain, so when the father approaches the planned meeting place, he finds over 800 young men who were all named Paco—waiting for their fathers, all hoping for forgiveness.

Perhaps you have been in this kind of reconciliation but it just didn’t play out. There is a lot of hurt as well as anger and confusion when we cannot reconcile with family, friends, etc. Remember that song the Bee Gees wrote, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?” It was a deep soul looking to find reconciliation and forgiveness. It’s still up on the besties list and that reminds me how much we need to reconcile with one another.

In 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, using The Passion Translation, the Apostle Paul reminded the people in his day and for us as well knowing that reconciliation is God’s gift for us:  “…God has made all things new, and reconciled us to himself, and given us the ministry of reconciling others to God. In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God. We are ambassadors of the Anointed One who carry the message of Christ to the world, as though God were tenderly pleading with them directly through our lips. So we tenderly plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Turn back to God and be reconciled to him.”

Do you have a broken heart, a relationship that is just a stalemate? It’s true that everyone has a desire to be reconciled when relationships have been broken but sometimes trying to fulfill that longing is almost impossible. So, remember this: “In Christ, your reconciliation with God is complete-ALWAYS!” Rejoice that you were once lost but now are found! Seek out the broken relationships you struggle with. It’s not easy but God will work right along-side-you to make it happen. And then you will find reconciliation and you will get rid of the pain that truly breaks a broken heart. God’s work of reconciling continues and God wants you to work on reconciling with others; no more brokenness, instead be filled with the joy of the Lord! AMEN.