By David ReayFriday 14 Oct 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
“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.”(THE MESSAGE)
How would it be if we took this literally! Our church services might be characterised by people moving around and having deep and meaningful encounters with others in the church. Or perhaps rushing out the doors to get reconciled with someone without delay.
In Jesus’ time, people’s temple worship would be more protracted, less of a group ritual and more of a personal pilgrimage. So, individuals might determine to leave their offerings and attempt to fix up what is wrong with others. In our context, it might be rather impractical. However, Jesus’ basic point is clear enough: don’t try to paper over relational issues by immersing yourself in worship of God. Having right relationship with others is part of your worship of God. Getting all warm towards God while you know someone’s relationship with you is disrupted is an exercise in pretense.
So how do we apply it in our church contexts? Perhaps by resolving that as soon as is practicable, we will try to put things right with others. That we will admit our failures and responsibility in this area and not bury them beneath fervent singing and earnest listening to sermons. Of course, we can’t single handedly make things right, but we will play our part. And we may determine that before we next meet with the people of God we will have sought to mend fences with others.
Maybe one reason we don’t encounter God as we ought in our church services is because we have not resolved to encounter others with grace and mercy beforehand.
Blessings
David