LIFE SCRIPTS

Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Matthew 5:23‭-‬24 KJV

Genuine reconciliation is big before God. It’s big because He uses it to reconnect back to man through the person of Jesus Christ. God saves us ultimately to go to heaven but also importantly, to help reconcile men back to Him through evangelism. Our relationship with God has to be exemplified by our relationship with other people. God seeks us to reconcile back to Him through Christ. He therefore requires that we reconcile with our brothers in order for our faith to make sense. Reconciliation is an attitude someone takes. The other party might not be interested but Christ stated that ‘we first be reconciled to our brothers’. We must take that initial step even if wronged because it is a determinant of our relationship with God. This scripture reminds me that people matter before God. It doesn’t matter how wronged we are, how offended we are how angry we are… God requires that we reconnect back to those we’ve wronged or have wronged us. Paul in his letter to Philemon presents Onesimus, his servant who offended him. Paul requests that he forgives, accepts and reconciles with him. He even requests Philemon to put any debt Onesimus has with him on his account! All because he wanted to be an agent of reconciliation. If our Christian walk matters in life, we must, through all possible means seek to be agents of reconciliation. The writer of Hebrews states that ‘we should try our level best to live at peace with all men’. This is God’s call to us. Reconciliation to an offended brother or an offender is not an option but a prerequisite for a healthy relationship with God. Genuine reconciliation brings about unity upon which God commands a blessing (Psalms 133). Rwanda is a nation that was gripped with a genocide of monumental proportions. Many thought Rwanda will not rise. Many thought it was dead and buried. However, the rise of Rwanda begun through an attitude of genuine reconciliation and forgiveness between the offenders and the offended. People sought forgiveness from each other. They forgave and cried on each others shoulders. God honoured this. Small wonder it is one of the rising stars in Africa. God honours genuine reconciliation. He never turns away from a man or woman who goes out of his or her way to seek to reconnect with another.