the miner's strike and unforgiveness

I was listening to local radio on the 25^th anniversary of the last Miners Strike. This strike and the repercussions have had major implications for South Yorkshire where the mining industry was decimated.

A man was being interviewed who as a result of the strike had not spoken to his sister for 25 years. He had been on strike, his brother in law, a fellow miner had continued to work.

He admitted he had never spoken to his 23 year old niece either. 25 years ago something happened that fractured a family with no signs of any desire on the man’s part to put things right. Everyone has missed out in his family as a result of the ongoing feud.

We can gasp with horror at the sadness of it all, but then we need to remember the church! I know Christians who won’t talk to each other, who left a particular church/fellowship years ago and still aren’t reconciled nor show any desire of being so.  I think sometimes we just don’t know how to start the process of reconciliation, or it just seems too costly and time consuming so we just get stuck. However, Jesus told us to take the plank out of our own eyes before seeking to remove the splinter in someone elses. The desire to work well with other churches and Christians; to seek to “agree to disagree” without falling out with people of different persuasions; and to forgive those who have hurt us in the past are high values but really important to avoid the devil getting a foothold and ensuring we all miss out. In our communities in South Yorkshire there are too many Christians, let alone miners, who have ceased to have any meaningful contact with their brothers and sisters!