Re-Friending

ALL – Psalm 5:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 1:24-28
OT – Genesis 11:1-13:4
NT – Matthew 5:1-26

You used to get along. But then something happened. You know your friend was offended, but you were offended, too. Neither one wanted to be the first one to apologize; both of you felt that the other had sinned more. The relationship has never been the same.

Jesus has something to say about that:

So if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and suddenly remember that a friend has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar and go and apologize and be reconciled to him, and then come and offer your sacrifice to God. – Matthew 5:23-24, The Living Bible

Your relationships with others are more important than completing “official” acts of worship! Wow! I mean, it’s not as though sacrifice is unimportant. So that must mean that reconciling with a friend is so important to God that we can’t worship without at least making the attempt. In fact, re-friending people matters so much to Jesus that it might even be considered a part of our worship.

Consider these verses:

“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. . . . Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” – 1 Cor. 11:20-21, NIV

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” – 1 John 4:20-21, NIV

These verses both talk about people claiming to love God, seeming to worship God. Yet as they go about their version of loving God, their version of eating the Lord’s Supper, they show a complete lack of concern for others.

As Saul learned the hard way so long ago,
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” – 1 Sam. 15:22, NIV

Are you obeying God by re-friending people you don’t get along with? If not, you might not be as close to God as you think you are. So, what’s the next step for you?

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