A series on key topics related to personal peacemaking in Chinese cultural contexts. Most posts are based on excerpts from Jolene Kinser’s forthcoming book, Changing Normal: Break Through Barriers to Pursuing Peace in Relationships.
All quotes from interviews have been translated from Chinese; the names of the Chinese Christians who were interviewed have been changed to protect their privacy.
Those I interviewed in China… expressed repeatedly that holding tight to these unexamined views of themselves and their positions was a big hindrance in reconciling relationships. Yet, as their mindsets shifted, a door to potential reconciliation opened.
Pursuing heart-level reconciliation can be hard, humbling work. A labor of love. Yet when our love is infused with God’s love—our source of strength to reconcile—we can persevere in the process.
As Christians in China study biblical peacemaking, many have had personal aha moments…they now see that conflict starts in the heart and that avoiding addressing the root heart issues in order to “avoid conflict,” only results in the heart conflict remaining.
People shared their conflict stories, how they viewed face issues (saving, giving, and losing face), the hindering impact of face on reconciliation, and how God enabled them to set aside face to apologize and forgive…They have demonstrated that conflict resolution and relational restoration in face-saving cultures is possible!