Offerings.

"Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." -Matthew 5:23-24 [NIV]

So often we offer our gifts to the LORD without reconciling with others first. I know this really convicted me.

What does it mean when it says "your brother has something against you?" The translation in the Message Bible reads "... if you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you..." Synonyms (according to Thesaurus.com) include bitterness, grievance, and resentment. Hopefully as a follower of Christ, not too many of our brothers have "a bone to pick" with us. But we're people, and we're certainly not perfect.

A key thing to remember here is that Jesus in this passage said "brother." Our brothers are the body of Christ. Earlier in Matthew 5:11, Jesus had said "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." So in this passage, Jesus isn't talking about offending the world (or evoking animosity from someone by proclaiming His name), but our brothers.

Something else I find interesting is that we should be concerned about our brothers' issues with us, even if we don't have anything against them in return. Jesus didn't say, "If you remember that you have something against your brother..." Quite the opposite, He said, "If you...remember that your brother has something against you..." We should be concerned when members of the body of Christ are offended by us as a good friend recently reminded me.

The key issue here is the very act of going to your brother to make things right. I pray that God will teach us be humble enough to do so. Pride is our downfall, every time.

For years, I figured that if a Christian had an issue with me, it was his problem. But Paul advised, "...Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:17b-18 [NIV]).

Jesus wanted us even from the very altar to stop and go to our brother for reconciliation. Yes, it must be that important. Today, we don't give lambs and cows. Instead, we are to "offer [our] bodies as living sacrifices-- holy and pleasing to God" (Romans 12:1 [NIV]).

How can I ever expect to offer my life to God if I haven't first made peace with others? I do want my sacrifice to be "holy and pleasing to God." Peace and reconciliation definitely please God. With this in mind, we should go to our brothers (and sisters) in Christ, if they have something against us, and make things right.

What do you think?