WE PRAY , we offer sincere spiritual devotion to be as faithful and moral and obedient as possible, but sometimes it seems our prayers are just bouncing off the bottom door of heaven. Scripture warns, “The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.” (Deut. 28:23) This scripture is recorded in the context of disobedience. Maybe we are in self-deceit or denial about something fundamental in our relationship to God, and that just might—and quite often is—our relationship with others. When asked what the greatest command is, Jesus inextricably links the love of God with the love of others: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39) He is consistent in teaching us this.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus admonishes, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24) He does not specify if the gift is a sin offering or a fellowship offering, but the immediately preceding context has to do with anger towards “a brother or sister.” (Matt. 5:21) It becomes apparent, then, that even as the worshiper may be making a fellowship offering towards God, he or she may instead be needing to make a sin offering for an offense towards someone. It may also be that the first person is not necessarily guilty of an offense; it may be that the person who has taken offense has their own issues and has harbored ill feelings inappropriately. In either case, Jesus is asking that if we find ourselves in such circumstances, we try to determine the actuality and make an honest attempt at amends before attempting intimacy with God.
If we have sinned against someone, the Apostle John calls us to have the integrity to look at this from an objective and biblical perspective. He says, first, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) This may stem from an unexamined attitude of denial. If we are truly seeking understanding in this area, we need to pray with the Psalmist: “Search me, God, and know my heart; see if there is any offensive way in me.” (Psa. 139:23a-24a) If our prayer is honest, we can trust God for heart surgery. John adds, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us and purify us.” (1 John 1:9)
John adds, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.” (1 John 2:9) This points us back to the prelude to Jesus’ ‘gift at alter’ admonition. His words are a there are gut-level reality check. After several layered warnings (cf. Matt. 5:21-22) he says that those who ignore his injunction “will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matt. 5:22d) Paul continues on the subject. “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor. 10:12) The author of Hebrews, speaking first in similar context (cf. Heb. 6: 4-8), then attempts to move past rebuke to encouragement: “Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case.” (Heb. 6:9)
The Psalmist has a calmer and more objective perspective, one from someone who has flirted with danger and come away wiser. He calls us to reflect and consider the potential of the path we are on, and offers this experienced guidance: “Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” (Psa. 66:16-19)
God is a holy God, and his altar is a holy place. The offerings we make are made holy by the altar; they are purified there. Consider, however, the deaths of Aaron’s son’s Nadab and Abihu, who “offered unauthorized fire before the LORD” and who were killed by the “fire that came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them.” (Lev. 10:1-2)
A holy place is a dangerous place for the sinner summoning audience with God. And so Jesus asks us to consider if ‘a brother or a sister has anything against us.’ If we ask that question while at the altar, and our knees start knocking, we cannot say that we don’t know what to do. We can only say “yes” or “no.” If we say yes, then, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Rom. 12:18) We do what we can in the light of Paul’s advice. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32) If we do this, then we know that we may “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb. 4:16)
Don’t even think about saying no.
Q. Do I have any amends to make?
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