“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
In my 25 years of teaching children, it just might be an understatement to say that I have had many opportunities to engage in the ministry of reconciliation. The need for reconciliation is the same no matter where or who I teach. However, it has been only the past eight years that I have been able to do it openly and with the freedom of full expression. Being a teacher at Westlake Christian Academy has allowed me to freely pray with my students and bring the Word of God into all aspects of my relationships with my students and our daily lives without restriction. Blessings upon blessings!
A few weeks ago, I had a very real opportunity to bring the ministry of reconciliation to a couple of students in my class. It all started with an email from a mom. “Mrs. Coombe, my son is upset about something that happened at school. Can we come in and speak with you?” My heart sank at the thought that one of our new students was struggling enough for his mom to get into contact with me. I immediately started to pray for my student, for his mom, and for the other boy who was involved.
When “Peter” and him mom and I met together the next morning, he shared with me that a boy whom he thought was his friend had said a couple of hurtful things to him. As he shared his heart with me I was again in prayer for wisdom and sensitivity. “Lord, please help me to infuse the gospel into this situation.” I explained to “Peter” and his mom the way I would like to handle things and they agreed.
As the school day started, I asked “Chris” to join me in the hallway. As I started to explain the situation, “Chris” immediately hung his head and admitted that he had said what was reported. I asked him if he would have been hurt if someone had said that to him and he agreed that he would. I asked him if he’d like to apologize to “Peter” and he immediately responded with a yes. As he apologized to “Peter” tears started rolling down his face. I asked him if he was crying because he thought he was in trouble, and he shook his head in a no. Was it because he felt bad that he had hurt his friend? He nodded his head yes this time.
God provided an opportunity to explain that we all sin and we all say hurtful things sometimes. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all deserve punishment and death. What a wonderful thing it is to have salvation and forgiveness through our Savior Jesus. We are able to love and forgive each other because God has loved and forgiven us. We are given an endless number of chances with God, and it is a blessing to give many, many chances to each other. We experienced a sweet time of reconciliation, prayer, and forgiveness together.
Our God is a God of reconciliation. He passes this ministry of reconciliation on to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. I praise God that He has led me to be a part of a school that honors and encourages this ministry
- Paula Coombe
6th Grade Teacher
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