Resolving Conflict
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 7 
Read the passage
BIO: Good Morning, family!! My name is Kent Sterchi, the Director of LIFE Community Groups at First Pres. My wife, Michelle are proud parents of Lindsay, who is wife to Elliott Drake and mother to Avery Drake, now 1!! They serve Christ in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic with one of our ministry partners, Mission Emmanuel. John, our son, was married to Kate on June 19th and they begin their married life in Waco, Texas. God is so gracious and good to us and our cups runneth over with the love of Christ displayed through our church family!!
KEY VERSE: 2 Corinthians 7:4 "I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds."
CENTRAL TRUTH: When conflict between members of the family of faith is resolved through repentance and faith then there is cause for rejoicing as broken relationships are restored and the light of Christ shines forth.
DEVOTIONAL: Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and is defending his credentials of apostleship, and is also confronting, in love, the relational rifts, immorality and other problems that existed within the church at Corinth. As verse 8 indicates (refer to 2 Cor. 2:2,4) Paul had written the church a letter of rebuke "out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears" (2 Cor. 2:4a)….a gut wrenching thing for Paul to do. Yet, part of what makes this letter and the resulting repentance so beautiful and worthy of praise is that Paul, "wrote….to let you know the depth of my love for you" (2 Cor. 2:4b).
I think of the ways that I sometimes approach relational conflict (with my wife, Michelle, or with friends) and I do not always do so out of my deep love for her or others. I do so to "win" or "prove my point" and "to gain a superior position in the relationship" and these motivations do not come from the Spirit of God, but from my unrighteous flesh and selfishness. I think of how Jesus taught me to not take the speck out of another’s eye if I have a log in my own. In other words to examine the motive of my heart (is it out of my deep love) and the desired result (restoration of the relationship and person) before I take the first step towards them to resolve whatever it is that needs resolving.
Paul approaches the Corinthian church with loving rebuke that "caused them sorrow’ (2 Cor. 7:8a) and "hurt" (v.8b) and yet in v. 4, in a moment of retrospection, we find Paul encouraging, rejoicing in and expressing great confidence in the church at Corinth. Why? Because the offended ones did not try to defend their offenses or strike back, but " because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended…" (2 Cor. 7:9). The church at Corinth received Paul’s loving chastisement in a way that caused them to look honestly at the accusations and realize Paul was right and they needed to be "sorrowful" before the Lord and turn, taking ownership of their wrong and turning back to the Lord, from whom they had wandered.
Oh, that we in the family of faith, whether in our marriages, friendships or LIFE Community Groups would be motivated by love in our conflicts…..and to seek restoration of our relationships through repentance and faith!! Then, we could join with Paul in saying, "I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds." For when conflicts within the church family are resolved in the power of Christ, then individuals grow, the relationship(s) grow and God’s glory shines forth!! AMEN!!
QUESTION 1: When you face relational challenges, do you normally "fly off the handle" to be right or win, or do you go to prayer and check the log in your eye and approach the other in love?
QUESTION 2: When confronted by another that you know is coming to you in love, do you respond defensively and brush them off or do you listen with a "teachable heart" that leads to repentance and restoration?
QUESTION 3: N/A
Share
