True Community and Radical Forgiveness

In eleven days, I’ll be at First Presbyterian Opelika leading an interactive workshop on community. I’m way done with preparation, but I keep finding more and more excellent teaching on community. Found this article by Tim Keller today as I was studying Matthew 18.

“But one could argue that the biblical teaching on forgiveness and reconciliation is so radical that there are no cultures or societies that are in accord with it. It may be here most of all that we see the truth of Bonhoeffer’s statement, “Our community with one another [in Christ] consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us.Christian brotherhood is a spiritual and not a human reality. In this it differs from all other communities.”

1In its most basic and simple form, this teaching is that Christians in community are to never give up on one
another, never give up on a relationship, and never write off another believer. We must never tire of forgiving (and
repenting!) and seeking to repair our relationships. Matthew 5:23–26 tells us we should go to someone if we
know they have something against us. Matthew 18:15–20 says we should approach someone if we have
something against them. In short, if any relationship has cooled off or has weakened in any way, it is always your
move. It doesn’t matter “who started it:” God always holds you responsible to reach out to repair a tattered
relationship. A Christian is responsible to begin the process of reconciliation, regardless of how the distance or
the alienation began.” Tim Keller, “Serving Each Other through Forgiveness and Reconciliation”