Our new friend, learning of  my wife’s love for photographing swans, told us about a lake not far from us. She said the lake has a small fleet of swan-shaped paddle boats you can rent — a cute touch.

So we took up her suggestion. Unfortunately, that day the swans  let us know they were on vacation so we could not ride them. 

Instead, we hiked around the lake and admired the beautifully designed park landscape. Later I learned the park was the work of the Olmsted brothers, sons of the man who designed New York City’s Central Park. This park, a hidden gem, reminded us of High Park in Toronto.

At the start of our walk, my wife wore her Derek Jeter Yankees cap, and I wore my Mets cap. A couple stopped us and jokingly asked whether that difference caused conflict at home. We laughed and said, “No, we’re not fighting about baseball.”

But it made me think: what about when disputes are more serious?

Since the park is in Verona, NJ, my mind jumped to another Verona — the one in Italy where Shakespeare set his tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The Montagues and the Capulets were locked in a bitter feud. In the end, they were reconciled — but only after the senseless deaths of their children.

Can there be reconciliation without senseless death?

Our pastor has been preaching through Ephesians, and one message was titled “I Am Reconciled.” In Ephesians 2:11–22, Paul explains how Jews and Gentiles — once divided and hostile — are reconciled to each other and to God through Christ.

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility… that He might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14, 16)

Here again, peace comes through death — but not a meaningless one. Christ’s death was purposeful, decreed by God, and accomplished something astounding:

• Hostility between God and humanity was ended.
• Hostility between divided people can be healed.
• A “new humanity” was created in Him.

This is not instant magic. It’s a starting point we must live out, sometimes with fear and trembling. In churches, in families, in communities — whether the conflict is over silly preferences or serious offenses — the cross is the only solid foundation for lasting reconciliation.

At the lake, my wife and I could wear different caps and still walk in harmony. In Romeo and Juliet, reconciliation came too late, purchased at too high a price. But in the gospel, the price of Christ’s  death was high – but it bought a peace that can last forever — God and sinners reconciled.

In Romans 5:10 we read:

“For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”

Would you be willing to admit that you and God once stood on opposite sides — enemies because of sin — but now, through Christ, can be friends?
The first step is acknowledging that without Jesus, you would remain God’s enemy. Then, by admitting your need for forgiveness and believing that Jesus’ death fully accomplished that forgiveness, your life can do a 180.

Now you can enjoy the greatest reconciliation in the entire universe — peace with God Himself.