RECONCILING BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS

"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God."  (Matthew 5:23-24 MSG)

In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus talks about the formation of a new commitment in the lives of His followers. In effect, Jesus is saying, "Some of you used to be pretty casual about your relationships. If one started to break down, you discarded it like yesterday's newspaper. Now, all of that must change. I want you to be committed to becoming reconciled with every person in your life, as much as it is within your power to do so."

The apostle Paul answered Jesus' challenge. He often put his life in jeopardy by insisting on the destruction of the religious, social and cultural walls that separated the Jews from the Gentiles. Among the many accusations leveled at Paul, the Jews frequently added that he "brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place." Paul did this because he adopted Jesus' passion for reconciliation. He sought to break down every form of prejudice, eventually penning one of the most eloquent and moving passages in all of the Scripture: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

When Christ calls Paul -- and us -- to become reconcilers, He is not only stretching our faith, but He is being merciful toward us.  None of us want to look in the rearview mirror at the end of our lives and see a huge relational graveyard that we caused by a stubborn spirit or our unwillingness to swallow our pride enough to reconcile broken relationships.

-- Bill Hybels in The God You're Looking For

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