“Making every effort of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph.4:3).
As Christ’s reconciled and reconciling community, the church proclaims and embodies the ongoing story of God’s reign revealed in Jesus. The church is to be a signpost of God’s kin-dom. It’s not lost on me that we live in times where a kind of existential anxiety has peppered conversations on not just ordinary matters, but now, even the little things that are a part of life. Being “in Christ” means we have become citizens of a new realm, the reign of God, which opens up new modes of living and relating within the present world. Reconciled through Christ, Christians have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation. We are co-labor with God and called to be bearers of the message of reconciliation. If we are to ‘do no harm’ if we are to be ambassadors of reconciliation, facilitators of peace, then we must embrace the calling to be on an inward and an outward journey toward individual and collective transformation. Are you open to the Spirit’s continuing conversion process – or have you determined that your salvation is settled? Are you going onto perfection? Critical to being a mediator of reconciliation is being a listener with non-judgemental attentiveness, even when uncomfortable.
When we choose actively to listen, we make space for another; we exercise a power that can have startling, life-giving effects, thereby listening another into Existence
Practice with Intentionality
L-O-V-E Method for Healthy Conversations
Listen with an
Open heart and mind
Validate and acknowledge
Express thoughts and feelings simply, slowly, and calmly
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