Even after forgiveness has been offered (and received) and even after amends have been made (and accepted), the broken trust from the wrongdoing creates a culture of distrust. For partners in the reconciliation process to continue in their holy journey together, they must be honest about the obstacles that remain. Forgiveness, we find, is not about going back to the old relationship, but a process of forming a new relationship, which must be founded upon trust.

Scripture References: Matthew 18:6-9

From Series: A Ministry of Reconciliation | More Sermons from Jeffrey Schooley

From Series: "A Ministry of Reconciliation"

The call of Lent is to face squarely our sins. But merely facing sin is not the goal. The goal in Lent (and all Christian discipleship) is to be redeemed into Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation. This Lent, we will explore the engaged and complex process of reconciliation. This is no “forgive and forget” series (which is, itself, a myth perpetuated by the unforgiven), but a penetrating analysis of what it means to be ministers of reconciliation. And for the sake of transparency, this series was written against the backdrop of the racial unrest following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. But it should be clear that the process of reconciliation is applicable to issues both macro and micro in scale, good for conflicts between races and good for conflicts between spouses.