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If there is a broken or wounded relationship in your life, have you yet followed Jesus’ instructions for mending that relationship? You’ll find that instruction in Matthew 5:23-24:
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Since Jesus says that if you “remember that your brother has something against you,” it must mean that it is possible to forget that you have a broken relationship. Here are some of the methods we use to “forget” about those unpleasant, hurting relationships:
- We stay very busy, even if we have to create unnecessary activity.
- We convince ourselves that there’s nothing that can be done about it.
- We convince ourselves that since we didn’t cause the problem, we shouldn’t be the one to initiate the reconciliation.
- We find other relationships to fill the gap in our lives.
Jesus said we are to go to anyone who has something against us, and that would include those whose feelings are hurt, those with whom we’ve had a misunderstanding that has not been clarified, those people to whom we spoke hastily chosen words that were not appropriate, those who feel we’ve treated them unfairly or neglected them, to mention a few.
Are there any people in your life that fit that description? Have you been “forgetting” that they have something against you, sticking your head in the sand, so to speak, so as not to have to face that unpleasant reality?
Notice that Jesus didn’t limit it to those who have something legitimate against us or those who have a right to have something against us. No, he says if you know that someone has something against you, whether it’s your fault or not, then you take action.
Jesus made it clear that being reconciled was very important when he said, “leave your gift there in front of the altar” and go. I think he wanted to make it abundantly clear that reconciliation should have a very high priority in our lives. Basically, drop what you’re doing and go be reconciled.
Is there someone you need to be reconciled to? How about taking step one right now?