Digging Deeper – Making Amends
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV)
MAKING AMENDS
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stresses the importance of reconciliation over acts of devotion. This is not exclusive to the New Testament, although the Jews in the crowd, overlooking the spiritual principles of the Law, would have though this idea revolutionary. The Psalter likewise states, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering; the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; and broken and contrite heart you will not despise” (Psa 51:16-17). God calls us to take a moral inventory and take action where the Holy Spirit points out we are coming up short. Making amends is important for the people of God.
Not coincidentally, this spiritual principle has been embraced by twelve-step programs as of the utmost importance. Step Five of A.A. (and also of Celebrate Recovery – a Christ centered program) both state, “We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to others the exact nature of our wrongs.” When we are honest with another person it confirms we have been honest with ourselves and with God. Step Nine then calls those in recovery to “make direct amends whenever possible” – a step that is itself based upon the above passage in Matthew’s Gospel.
Often reconciliation is possible, but sometimes it is not. Forgiveness does not guarantee that the relationship will be restored, but our responsibility before God is satisfied in the attempt.
Ryan Hoffer serves as NextGen Production Director at NorthStar. He holds an M.Div in Church History and enjoys playing the harp. He and his wife, Tiffany, live in Acworth and have three children.