"So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24 (NCV)
Who has something against you? Who do you have something against? Have you tried to make peace with that person? Why would Jesus say we must make peace before we can offer our gifts to God? What does peace look like? Is peace a gift to God?
The following story came from an unknown author in an e-mail to me:
I grew up in the '50s with very practical parents. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it. My father was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, dishtowel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more. But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away... never to return. So, while we have it... it's best we love it... and care for it... and fix it when it's broken... and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage... and old cars... and children with bad report cards... and dogs with bad hips... and aging parents... and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
We make peace because our brothers and sisters are worth it! Our friends and family will not last forever, so it’s best to make peace quick. God will always be there to give our gifts too, so He wants a different gift first. The gift of knowing His children are at peace with one another! This Thanksgiving we must not offer our thanks to God before we have made peace with those who have something against us!
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