When Relations Are Strained

How will I display Christ?

Now, I am about to stand before an administrative committee to speak on behalf of discontent faculty.

Strained Relationships

For the past few years, relations between faculty and this administrative committee have been strained. My message, that we feel stretched thin and undervalued, could sour this tenuous relationship. Something good needs to happen and that ambassadorial burden falls on me.

I say a quick prayer, take a deep breath, and then, I smile. Today’s report has something special: the grace of Christ.

Seeking the Welfare of My Institution

In Jeremiah 29:7, God tells his people to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (ESV)

At my church, we are challenged weekly to live out the gospel in our community. One aspect of this calling is to seek the welfare, the good, of my institution. This means I actively identify key needs, then work towards meeting them with resources I have been given. 

As I freely meet these needs, I demonstrate the grace of Christ, who came to freely give to us even as we were incapable of giving him anything.

Relations Begin to Warm

So here I stand before this committee. The key need of mending strained relationships has a solution found in Christ. The gracious approach Christ took toward me, I now offer to them. My report from the faculty must remain true. Yet, through my attitude and delivery, I can give the unconditional welcome of Jesus.

As I speak truth to them with grace, they listen to what I say as they welcome this attitude of grace towards them. Their bodies begin to relax. A few even smile back at me. The frozen relations between faculty and this administration group are beginning to warm.

God Transforms Me

God calls us to represent Christ in our various roles and relationships at our institutions. In my own encounters with challenging students, colleagues, and administrators, I experience plenty of times where I fall short of living out the grace of Christ to them. But as I rely on his grace to both see and act on those needs, God uses these opportunities to transform me and bring about the good of my institution, ‘the city where I have sent you.’

A few months have passed, and I now stand before this committee a second time. On this occasion I bring a very different message, one of gratitude for their generous actions towards the faculty. God’s calling on his sojourning people is still true today; as I seek the welfare of my institution, I also find my welfare.