Day Thirteen

Matthew 5:23-24:  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.

Day Thirteen of the June Study revolves around those brothers of ours that make our lives… sticky?  Irksome?  I can't think of just the right word to describe the myriad of feelings running through my heart with this passage.

This scripture portion is dealing with those of the family of God and yet (and I've mentioned this before) when the word "brother" is used, I can't help but think of my earthly brother.  If I'm not careful, this passage can be twisted into one that makes me dredge up old haunts and those definite "something against you" moments that I am sure he has towards me.  Do you remember that Don Henley song "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" that he sang with Patty Smyth?  That chorus is going through my head as I once again realize that the truth of the matter is that love does have the power to cover all sins but...but sometimes covering sins and reconciling the two parties just doesn't happen.  

It's not supposed to be this way.  God didn't design His children to be at odds with one another and yet...we are.  The terrorist attack in Orlando showed that yesterday, didn't it?  I saw on a news show this morning the president of the LGBT Center of Central Florida and the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida offering one another support in wake of this tragedy.  Who'd have thought a couple like that would get together?  Quite the contradiction, huh, but doesn't this show that the world is trying to make us all get along, to not judge one another, to forgive the lifestyles several choose and live in harmony despite them?  

But we can't just accept the superficial gestures as true brotherly love, now can we?  We must go deeper as we endeavor to mend fences with those who are God's children that have aught with one another.  We must!  And when we do?  Then the true light of this world can shine through and real healing take place.  I do not mean this as a slight to the Gay Community nor against those of other faiths.  When all is said and done and we stand before God, the righteousness of Christ is going to be what He sees in our lives.  The way we loved, the way we lived, the way we embodied Christ in us:  those are the crucial elements.  May we all exhibit them one to another is my hope.