Suffering and Reconciliation Part 1

As I have met so many from around the globe it is clear that suffering in some form has been common. Around my daily discussion group table is an example of a wider picture of the 4100 church and ministry leaders.

I cannot share a couple of their names nor photos for security reasons. Our table leader is Serbian and grew up in Bosnia. During the protracted Balkan war in the mid-90's she and her family had to escape and flee to Serbia.
She was in her mid-teens. They lost everything. If you do not remember, genocide was taking place in the Balkans. It was through this painful experience she found peace in Christ.

One man at our table is a pastor in Gambia, West Africa. He lives in a context that is 90 percent Muslim.

Another man is from a country in SE Asia. He has experienced a couple wars, communism and persecution of the church.

The other woman at our table grew up under Apartheid in South Africa. She experienced the brutilization of people because of skin color and government policies.


Another man had to flee his home in Southeast Asia during war. He was seperated from his family and did not know if they had gotten out of the country nor if they were dead or alive. It was four years before he heard and was reunited.

I have met those who have been imprisoned, lost family, been brutalized physically, live in contexts hostile to the Gospel and so on. Everyone I have met has a significant story.

The grand theme of the congress is "God in Christ, reconciling the world." (2 Cor. 5: 18-20). For everyone I have met this week that has suffered profusely - this passage is lived out daily. They are church and ministry leaders who have chosen to forgive and be ministers of reconciliation to man and to God in Christ Jesus.

It is pretty inspiring to be around those who "have counted the cost and count it all loss.". "He gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Cor. 5: 18-20).

Is there anyone you believe has unjustly hurt you? Is there someone you have suffered from? Have you chosen to forgive and try to reconcile?

Mike