“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
Matthew 5:23-24
Jesus gave two very specific commandments to His disciples when He was asked which of the commandments were the greatest. His response was, “Love God with all your heart and all your soul. And, love your neighbor as yourself.” Yet, in addition to this, He made a very specific point concerning forgiveness while He taught the masses how to pray.
It is a concept so radical, that most of us overlook it. It simply states that, if we have not forgiven those whom we believe have hurt us in some way, then, before we honor God with our sacrificial gifts –whether monetary, spiritual, or otherwise; we must first make amends with those people whom we have not forgiven. In other words, the cleansing of your spirit to remove unforgiveness is so important to God, that although your sacrifice may be extremely important to YOU, God says to keep your gift, sacrifice, fast, prayer, or whatever else you believe you should submit to please Him, at the foot of the altar. Jesus asks us to literally leave our gift in stasis, until we have taken care of our forgiveness problem.
Unforgiveness places a huge barrier between you, God, and the abundance He has already ordained for you from the beginning of time. The Bible says that God’s blessing is above all that we could ever ask or think. So, I don’t know about you; but, I want every last bit of abundance God has scheduled for my life. I do not want to leave one gift unopened! I do not want the foolishness of a stubborn heart to get in the way of receiving any of the wonderful things He has already planned for my life. Especially since, that gift may just be the gift that I have been waiting on my entire life. It may be just the thing that will release my spirit to completely fulfill my destiny in this world.
What about you? Will you allow the stubbornness of unforgiveness to permanently place a wedge between you and all the wonderful gifts God is eagerly waiting to dispense to you? If not, then take care of that issue. L.
**Now it is your turn to write your thoughts regarding today's verse in your journal.
Study Reference: Matthew 5:23-24
From: “Your Thoughts: Spiritual Roadblocks...” In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions for Everyday Living.
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell
photo: Maroesjka Lavigne
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