“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” – Matthew 18:15
In today’s society, our daily endeavors and distresses affect our walk with the Lord. Our strained relationships, lack of financial assets and/or our poor physical health may cause us uncertainty, giving rise to fear and insecurity. Maybe we made a poor financial decision or our health took a turn for the worse. These issues may require that we spend inordinate amounts of time, which we do not have to spare, in order to bring resolution to them and to restore equanimity to our life.
Strained relationships also affect every other area of our life. If we have a confrontation with a friend or family member that blows up out of proportion, it may shade how we look at things - mentally, emotionally and spiritually. When there is an offense between us and another person, God requires that we lay our gift at the altar (Matthew 5:24), and go to this person in an effort to clarify the issues and to make reparation for any harm done on our part.
God knows that we humans do not communicate clearly and some of us are harder to communicate with than others. We leave out important information in what we say. We misinterpret a look or the meaning of a word, and then we adopt a negative attitude toward one another. We exchange unkind words and actions that wound one another, which we cannot take back or erase their effects. In addition, people who do not really know us, or who knew us long ago, may forget what we are really like or they may misunderstand us and make false accusations against us.
When we comprehend life from an eternal perspective, however, it is easier to adopt a humble attitude and to offer friendship in place of their anger or despiteful use of us (Matthew 5:44). We may need to make the first effort at reconciliation, reaching out to the bitter one who closed off his/her heart against us.
When we try to make amends, some people may continue to throw insults at us and make threats. They may even ignore us and refuse to resolve the issues. What concerns God, however, is that we make an effort. Then the ball is in God’s court. If they are truly His children, God will bring circumstances to bear in their life to humble them and to cause them to be more conciliatory. If they are not truly born again, they will continue in their misguided thinking and your relationship may never be restored.
Once we attempt to reconcile, however, we can then go back to the altar, regardless of how the other person responds to our efforts. We are free to enjoy each precious moment of life in worshipping our God and Creator. We can offer every breath, every action, every thought and every word as an expression of our gratitude for what He did for us on Calvary’s cross and for what He continues to do in our daily lives. We can also trust Him to provide for all of our needs and to lead us on our path of life and fill us with the joy of His presence (Acts 2:28).
When we really understand the glory we will one day see in heaven, and how soon all else will fade away when we do, we will be much less concerned about how things appear in the eyes of other people. We will conclude that God alone is our judge and that eternity will tell the truth about the matter.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You called us to enjoy a fulfilling and personal relationship with You through Your Holy Spirit. We may not have much time left before Your return. Help us to reconcile with our fellow humans, and to enjoy the freedom to worship You with clean hands and a pure heart until You come again.Thought for the Day:
In considering human nature, the moments during which reason and reconciliation prevail are sometimes few and far between.
