A thought for the day...
As I sat sipping TheraFlu this morning, some time around 3 a.m., the Lord brought two Bible verses to mind and revealed a new insight concerning them that I had not seen before.
The verses are these:
If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Matthew 5:23
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18
If God sent Jesus into the world in order to reconcile (to patch up or reunite) us to Himself, then God must really, really desire an intimate relationship with us.
Right?
As much as God really wants to reunite with us and have an intimate relationship with us, if we look at Matthew 5:23 it tells us to “first be reconciled to your brother, and then come.”
What does this mean?
If we look at these verses together, there seem to be 3 truths we can glean from them:
1. God loved us so much and desired a relationship with us so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross in order to reconcile us to Himself. "who reconciled us to Himself through Christ"
2. As much as God loves us, He commands that we reconcile (to patch up or reunite) our relationships here on earth before we come to Him. "first be reconciled to your brother, and then come" I believe this is a message God is giving to Christians and it refers to Christians preparing their heart before they come to Him in worship. The Lord knows that we cannot fully open our heart in worship to Him when we are bogged down by emotions like anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness. "this people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me." (Matt 15:8,9)
-- here comes the new insight --
3. God Himself gives Christians the ability to reconcile with others just as it was God Himself who gave us the ability to be reconciled to Him through Christ. "all these things are from God, who... gave us the ministry of reconciliation"
The ministry of reconciliation... hum...
As Christians, we know we have a ministry to the lost, to the sick, to the elderly, to the widows, to the orphans, to the children, to the hungry, to the needy, to all kinds of people...
But how often, if ever, do we consider that we have a God given ministry of reconciliation to those who may not be lost, who may not be sick, who may not be elderly, and who may not fall into any of our preconceived ideas of a person with a ministry need. We have a ministry of reconciliation toward everyone who may just be getting on our nerves for some reason or another. This means that for all those people with whom we may disagree, we have a ministry of reconciliation.
So, does this mean that we must always agree with everyone? No, of course not. It means that when we disagree with another, we will not allow our disagreement over an issue to settle and take root in our heart as anger, bitterness, or unforgiveness toward that person.
Kind-of a cool twist on the idea, isn't it?
And guess what else, this ministry of reconciliation is not just exclusively for the purpose of meeting the needs of another person. Which is what we typically think of a ministry doing. Right?
This ministry of reconciliation is also for the purpose of meeting our own spiritual need. I will refer again to the verse I used in point number 2, "this people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me." Our God given ministry of reconciliation is not just for meeting the needs of another person. Our ministry of reconciliation allows us the opportunity to meet our own need. As Christians, we need to worship God. We need our heart to be consumed with a holy fire and a desperate longing for Christ. When our hearts are bogged down with negative attitudes and emotions toward other people, it hinders our ability to worship God in Spirit and Truth.
-- interesting to look at it from that perspective, isn't it? --
God loves us and desires a relationship with us, but He also places a very high importance on our relationships with other people.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13: 34, 35
Why does God place such a high importance on our relationships with other people?
1. Because it effects our ability to worship Him
2. Because our love for others is our visible witness to the world that we follow Him
The verses are these:
If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Matthew 5:23
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18
If God sent Jesus into the world in order to reconcile (to patch up or reunite) us to Himself, then God must really, really desire an intimate relationship with us.
Right?
As much as God really wants to reunite with us and have an intimate relationship with us, if we look at Matthew 5:23 it tells us to “first be reconciled to your brother, and then come.”
What does this mean?
If we look at these verses together, there seem to be 3 truths we can glean from them:
1. God loved us so much and desired a relationship with us so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross in order to reconcile us to Himself. "who reconciled us to Himself through Christ"
2. As much as God loves us, He commands that we reconcile (to patch up or reunite) our relationships here on earth before we come to Him. "first be reconciled to your brother, and then come" I believe this is a message God is giving to Christians and it refers to Christians preparing their heart before they come to Him in worship. The Lord knows that we cannot fully open our heart in worship to Him when we are bogged down by emotions like anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness. "this people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me." (Matt 15:8,9)
-- here comes the new insight --
3. God Himself gives Christians the ability to reconcile with others just as it was God Himself who gave us the ability to be reconciled to Him through Christ. "all these things are from God, who... gave us the ministry of reconciliation"
The ministry of reconciliation... hum...
As Christians, we know we have a ministry to the lost, to the sick, to the elderly, to the widows, to the orphans, to the children, to the hungry, to the needy, to all kinds of people...
But how often, if ever, do we consider that we have a God given ministry of reconciliation to those who may not be lost, who may not be sick, who may not be elderly, and who may not fall into any of our preconceived ideas of a person with a ministry need. We have a ministry of reconciliation toward everyone who may just be getting on our nerves for some reason or another. This means that for all those people with whom we may disagree, we have a ministry of reconciliation.
So, does this mean that we must always agree with everyone? No, of course not. It means that when we disagree with another, we will not allow our disagreement over an issue to settle and take root in our heart as anger, bitterness, or unforgiveness toward that person.
Kind-of a cool twist on the idea, isn't it?
And guess what else, this ministry of reconciliation is not just exclusively for the purpose of meeting the needs of another person. Which is what we typically think of a ministry doing. Right?
This ministry of reconciliation is also for the purpose of meeting our own spiritual need. I will refer again to the verse I used in point number 2, "this people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me." Our God given ministry of reconciliation is not just for meeting the needs of another person. Our ministry of reconciliation allows us the opportunity to meet our own need. As Christians, we need to worship God. We need our heart to be consumed with a holy fire and a desperate longing for Christ. When our hearts are bogged down with negative attitudes and emotions toward other people, it hinders our ability to worship God in Spirit and Truth.
-- interesting to look at it from that perspective, isn't it? --
God loves us and desires a relationship with us, but He also places a very high importance on our relationships with other people.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13: 34, 35
Why does God place such a high importance on our relationships with other people?
1. Because it effects our ability to worship Him
2. Because our love for others is our visible witness to the world that we follow Him
posted by angie | 11:40 AM
4 Comments:
hmmmm...
I like it.
Cindy
Hope you get to feeling better!!!
To undertake a project, as the word's derivation indicates, means to cast an idea out, ahead of one's self so that it gains autonomy and is fulfilled not only by the efforts of its originator, but, indeed, independently of him (her) as well.
Czeslaw Milosz
Forgiving someone is solid proof of your intent to live life now, while you have it, and be dead later,when you are.
Ron Smothermon
Enjoyed your Spitit-led words of wisdom...
Cris
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