Matthew 18.15 NLT




Jesus said, “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offence. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.”
Ever since the Garden of Eden, people have fallen out with one another. It’s very sad but it has always happened, and still does. It is an inevitable part of living in a world of sin. The question is: what you do when it happens? Here, Jesus gives wonderfully straightforward advice which is useful to every single person. If you are wronged, then you need to deal with it as speedily and as privately as possible, with the aim of achieving a restored relationship. It amazes me that this simple and clear advice is so often ignored.
When we are wronged, it is very tempting to tell other people about it immediately, but that just magnifies the problem. We feel hurt and so we want other people to sympathise with us and take our side. It would always be better to go to the person who has wronged us in the hope that the relationship can be immediately restored. One of the compelling reasons for doing this is that so often offence is caused through a misunderstanding which is easily set to one side with a simple conversation. But the longer we leave it, the greater the chance of the offence growing and causing more hurt.


The objective of speaking to the person who has offended us is that they will hear where we are coming from and seek to restore the relationship. Of course, that won’t always happen. Sometimes they fully intended to cause us hurt and are completely unrepentant. In that case we do need to involve someone else but, once again, the aim is to bring about restoration. None of this is easy but I love the way in which it shows Jesus’ profound understanding of everyday life and his desire to lead us in the path of healing and harmony in all our relationships.




Question: In what way have you tried to follow Jesus’ advice in repairing relationships?
Prayer: Lord God, I thank you that you understand the tangles that we get into in our relationships. Help us to be peacemakers today. Amen

Released on 1 Apr 2022