David Bahn – Reflections

Matthew 5:21-26

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

It really matters to God that we love our neighbor and forgive our brother or sister in Christ. He says it’s even more important than giving our offering: “If you remember that your brother has something against you…first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” That’s important: get right with your brother before you pretend you’re right with God.

The dilemma of unforgiveness is troubling and difficult. Sometimes we say we cannot forgive because the pain has been so great; or for fear that we will be taken advantage of we withhold our mercy. Note here, however, that Jesus says that if we remember that someone has something against us: if we’ve offended someone we are to go make peace. We must forgive. But we must also seek to be forgiven if we have offended.

The surest way to avoid being forgiven is to deny the pain we have caused. The easiest way to avoid reconciliation is to tell the wronged person that there were extenuating circumstances; focus more on the fact that we didn’t intend to hurt the other than on the fact that we did.

Forgiveness is not cheap, but it is free. Christ has earned that for us and from the fullness of His grace we are free to confess our sins for what they are: offenses against His holy will. If we go to the one we have offended and confess our sin without rationalization or excuse we will be more honest and more able to hear the words of forgiveness. We have been forgiven; we need not excuse our sin, just confess it to God and to whomever we have offended – even before we offer our gifts to God.