The Gift of Reconciliation

Matt 5:23-24
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
A few days ago I had the joy of getting together with some dear friends from whom I had been alienated for some time.  I had deeply hurt them through my sin and I had felt that they had turned against and wanted nothing to do with me.
The details aren’t important except to say that Satan does what he can to drive wedges between us. Real offenses are lumped in with imagined ones and soon there is a gulf between people who used to be like family.
I can’t speak for them or their process; I can only speak for myself. At the time I was in denial about a lot of things and while I was the offending party, it was easier to justify my position by assigning blame to others. I felt betrayed and I felt abandoned and ostracized.  I was in a deep depression and saw ulterior motives everywhere.
Anyway, I don’t mean to rehash the past, only to point out what happens when we allow God to take that which was in darkness and expose it to the light. I was able to confess my sin and walk through the restoration process.
The upshot of all of this is that word spread of my journey and people rejoiced in the work that God is doing. As a result, I’ve reconnected with some old friends and we have hugged and thanked God for His graciousness. The refrain from the conversations with them has been that they forgave me a long time ago, but just didn’t know where I stood.
I’ve reconciled with long lost friends. I could still see the pain in some of their eyes and the regret of years of friendship lost. Yet, I could also see God bringing healing to our hearts.
It is one thing to know that God is doing a work and it is another to experience it first-hand. I still have a ways to go. Not everyone was able to attend the gathering and so those face to face encounters still need to take place. But God. That is all I need to say.
Now I need to go back to the altar so that I can offer my gift.

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