The Hardest Verse

Some Words from the Scripture are just hard.  Harder than most.  Hard enough that we do not really want to linger on what is being said.  While the Sermon on the Mount has many such words, one from the 5th chapter of Matthew has always stood out.  Beginning in verse 23 the Word says, "So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift."  (Matthew 5:23-24)  It is one of those verses which is often read so fast because we know ahead of time what it is going to say so we miss what it does say.

 

Out there in the places we live, blame is always taken into account when it comes to reconciliation.  If we are right and another is wrong, then logic says it is not our place to initiate words which might lead to reconciliation and be construed as being a softy.  This Word of Jesus allows none of this.  It says that if we realize some relationship which touches our life is broken, then we should do what needs to be done to get it right.  It says nothing about who is right or who is wrong.  Who  is right or wrong does not matter.  What mattes is the broken relationship.

 

It is a hard word indeed.  Too many times we live in a world of broken relationships because someone has wronged us and we are waiting on them to come to us.  Pride is such a demanding creature.  It is also a destructive one.  It is especially destructive when it comes to relationship building.  Jesus does not care about right or wrong.  What He cares about is our getting things right again.  If we are really serious about being a follower, then there is no other choice.