Joe E. Trull tells of a primitive tribe located deep in the South American jungles. Anthropologists learned the most important role within the tribe was the “keeper” of the flame. Since fire is so precious — and takes such effort to recreate — one member is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the flame alive.
During the night the flame keeper adds wood to the fire. He keeps the fire alive whenever the tribe moves to another location — carrying it in some vessel in order that the very difficult task of starting a fire in such a primitive culture might not have to be repeated.
I’ve begun to believe that role is the most important in every tribe and every culture:
The keepers of the flame of truth — basic integrity.
The keepers of the flame of love — caring for another.
The keepers of the flame of conviction — willing to stand for right and justice.
And we could go on and on, high on the list, the willingness to forgive. In what may be a passive response is an act of great power.
On June 17, 2015, in Charleston, SC a white man, Dylann Roof, murdered nine members of Mother Emmanuel A.M.E. Church. If members of that church, or any other group, had sought to seek revenge it might well have triggered a race war. Instead, they decided to forgive Dylann Roof. The act of forgiveness was so powerful that within two months the confederate flag was removed from the state house grounds in Columbia, SC. An unforgettable message of reconciliation was sent across the world.
The families of the nine people killed and Mother Emmanuel Church practiced a core expression of the Christian faith. In fact, the Apostle Paul said reconciliation is the ministry to which we are all called. After affirming the new life that is ours, he said, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)
Clement of Alexandria, one of the early church fathers, said all Christians should practice being God.” When I first read that, it shocked me. Me…practice being God? But the more I thought about it, the more gripping the idea became. Practice being God.
Don’t close your mind, thinking this is irreverent. Ponder for a moment. Paul was talking about this in his word about reconciliation? He said first, God reconciled us to himself…that’s what God does. He has called us to do the same. The families of the nine people killed at Mother Emmanuel Church were practicing being God.
Paul continued, “From now on, therefore, we regard none from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer.” He was talking about practicing being God — not viewing persons from a human point of view, but from a God perspective. And when we have that perspective, the ministry of reconciliation follows.
Come at it in a slightly different way. When are we most like God? We are most like God when we are most like Christ. And when are we most like Christ? We find our answer again in Paul. Preceding what he said about reconciliation, he wrote: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore, all have died. And He died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.”(2 Cor. 5:14-15) What an encompassing statement! “We are convinced that (Christ) has died for all.” That means that since He has died for all He has died for each, and that is the great solvent by which the love of God melts our hearts. If Christ loves like that, and we are to love as He loved, to not forgive is never an option.
Whether we like the language, practice being God, or not, at the core of the Christian faith is forgiveness. I’m seeking to say yes to forgiveness.