Healing Damaged Relationships

Matthew 5:23-24 - "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and they remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

It is really important to be reconciled to others before you present yourself to God. Bridges need to be rebuilt. He wants you to come worship him with a clean heart and clean hands, this means that you come to him with all your relationship issues sorted out and made peace in.

Matthew 25:25-26 - "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

Working towards reconciliation with others is important, not just for your adversary, but more importantly for your own welfare. God wants the world to be filled with peace, therefore he places great importance on you resolving your differences with others to retain friendships.

There are many Scriptures on healing damaged relationships. They all show that reconciliation requires someone to take the first step of kindness. It requires that you make the decision to forgive and show mercy:

Ephesians 4:2 - "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one and other in love."

1 Samuel 25:28 - "Please forgive your servant's offence, for the Lord will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the Lord's battles."

Luke 15:18 - "I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you."

Forgiveness is not just a decision that we make. It is a process too. Sometimes we need to decide to forgive whether we want to or not. This is because forgiveness is the right thing to do and is what the Bible tells us to do.

Although making amends for an offence is difficult, your relationships with others are worthy of your immediate and diligent efforts at reconciliation. The three simple words "I am sorry" are very important but can for some be the hardest words to say. When you hurt someone, intentionally or unintentionally, you ought to apologise to that person as quickly as possible and make any needed resolutions. This stops the devil getting in the mix.