AN URGENCY TO RESOLVE CONFLICT
"So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God."
Matthew 5:23-24 (NLT)
In the Sermon on the Mount, where the passage above comes from, Jesus tells us what His Kingdom will be like and what His followers will be doing. One of the things He gives is an urgency to forgive and reconcile. Here, Jesus says if you’re doing something for Him and you remember there is a conflict, go and reconcile with that person. This is our first ministry because conflict and unforgiveness will poison our lives. People say they hold onto bitterness but can compartmentalize it, meaning they keep it separated from the rest of their lives. The problem is that our hearts can't compartmentalize the toxins of bitterness and anger. They spill over to everything else, and Jesus knows this. Unforgiveness is a prison. Jesus wants us to deal with this issue because He knows it will sideline us at some point. Notice, we’re called to reconcile, but that doesn’t mean we must trust the person. Sometimes it would be foolish to do that. We must relinquish our right to retaliate or get even with them. This is a hard teaching, but Jesus Himself modeled this.
People have asked me, How can I find the strength to forgive? I don’t have it in me. Let me encourage you—I don’t, either. There’s only one place I’ve ever found the strength to forgive and reconcile: the Spirit. The Spirit shows me how much this affects my life and the damage caused by holding onto it. The Spirit will often remind me how much I have been forgiven. When I look at Jesus’ kindness to me, it changes me. Forgiveness is a two-way street: I cannot receive God’s forgiveness and then choose to be unforgiving. The cross is what makes resolving conflicts possible.
APPLICATION: As I receive God’s forgiveness today, I reciprocate that to others.
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit to guide you to resolve any conflict. Ask Him if there’s any bitterness you’re still holding onto so He can help you destroy it.