Go and Be Reconciled

Matthew 5:23-24

23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Matthew 5:23-24

As a Pastor, I’ve been tempted to do the following,

1. Ask the ushers to come up to receive the offering at church.

2. Read Matthew 5:23-24.

3. Wait.

So many things stand out in these couple of sentences, but let’s not bury the lede. If someone is angry with you, then Jesus tells you that your spiritual priority is going and being reconciled.

And it’s not if you are angry with someone, it’s hard not to think of those things, but if someone is angry with you (I know that some of us would have a few stops to make). It’s easy for me to rationalize that someone who might be angry with me is unjustified in their anger towards me. It’s more their problem, than mine.

Jesus doesn’t distinguish between justified or unjustified anger, he puts the onus on us to go and be reconcilers as our spiritual priority. It is more important that we go and be reconciled than make a sacrifice to God. An offering is way easier than reconciliation.

So today, I want to invite you to consider is there someone angry with you that God is prompting you to reconcile with. How do I make it a spiritual priority in my life? A short disclaimer: the bigger the wound, the longer the necessary healing. And some wounds are not easily healed, and it won’t be a quick fix, but it doesn’t diminish the spiritual priority.

So, go and be reconcilers, because Jesus first came to reconcile with us.

Love,

Aaron