2 Cor. 5:19 "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." Matthew 5:24 "Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." I believe that God seeks to instill in us and expects to see in us a resemblance of His own character. There is something very important for us to see - that reconciliation, being brought into relationship with God, was not hindered because of the sin question, but was founded on the basis of God's character of mercy and grace. If He weren't able to step above the sin problem, introduce His mercy and grace through Christ, and then deal with that sin through the blood of the cross; the only choice would have been to judge and destroy mankind. This is exactly what He expects of us. Our relationships with one another must not be based on the offences that exist between us, but on the mercy and grace that has been shown to us in the blood of the cross. As we love and relate to one another on this basis, we can then begin to deal with the "offences" that separate us. I John 4:20 tells us that "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." On the same basis, how can we be reconciled to God if we can't be reconciled to one another? I Cor. 13:4-5 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." You see this is God's character, and these are things that He wants to see in us. This is why He tells us to "leave our gift at the altar..." He's telling us "Don't make nice to me when you can't get it right between yourselves." Brothers and sisters, we need to "get over it!" and "get it right" before the lost of the world will pay any attention to what we think we have.

God Expects Better of His Church