Reconciliation and Restored Worship

"Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23-24

   Repentance. Quickly reconciling with others. Humbly repenting before God. There is something extremely difficult about all three of these. They are not easy, nor are they designed to be. But these three things are considered more important in our worship experience than presenting an offering before God. God desires this aspect of our worship before he requires any type of sacrifice from us, whether that be our songs of praise, our sacrifice of time, the use of our talents or treasures, or anything else we do for God. He wants our hearts. The primary wellspring of our worship is to be our hearts. Until God sees that our hearts are clean, pure, and right with him and others, whatever we do in "worship," doesn't really matter.

Oh the drudgery of humility...

   I have been learning this lesson a lot recently. There are so many times that I am just plain stupid. I hurt others with what I say, don't say, how I look at them, or even how I think about them. and in order for my fellowship with God to be restored, I have to repent. This is no fun. It means I have to first, face what I did in all of its ugliness. No one likes facing what they did, and that includes me. This is why so many people try to ignore what they have done, or excuse it. This is because if they can pretend they never did it, then they don't have to deal with it. But God calls his worshipers to admit what they have done.

   And once I did that, I had to confess to God that it was wrong. Again, that is not fun. It is admitting I failed. It is saying I was not right. It is confessing that I am not as smart, charming, important, or in control as I thought I was. Oh, the drudgery of humility. Honestly, I don't like being humble. It is the pits. To put myself out of the picture is painful. But I can tell you with every part of my heart, that there is freedom in humility.

   Finally, once I confessed my failure before God, I had to take that confession out the door of my heart and into my mouth. I had to confess my failure to the person I offended each time. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where the confession of your heart to God is proven to be genuine. And this is where healing happens. James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (Side note for those who have been offended: if your offender comes to you to reconcile, there is a command in this verse for you too. Pray for them, and allow them to be healed. Forgive them. Reconciliation is a two-way street, not just a one-way side alley.)

Do not seek a quick fix for your guilt.
Reconciliation needs to come from
admitting, confessing, and receiving forgiveness.

   In this journey of reconciliation that I have seemed to have been taking rather frequently lately, I have noticed that there are a few road markers that tell you if you are truly heading toward restored worship. They are these:

   1. Admit what you did. Do not ignore it!

   2. Confess it was wrong. Do not excuse it!

   3. Ask for forgiveness from the one you offended. Do not seek a quick fix for your guilt!

   And when you see that you are traveling in the right direction on this journey of reconciliation, be assured that you are moving toward restored worship! God desires your heart to be humble before him. Micah 6:8 says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Worship is pleasing and acceptable to God when it comes from a heart that is humble and reconciled with others.