Blake Barbera

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

One of God’s most amazing qualities is that He roots for everyone.

Think about that for a moment. If you ever get the chance, try watching a football game with someone who doesn’t root for one side or the other. You’ll notice that their opinions about the game are much more impartial than the viewers who are mired in fandom. That doesn’t mean that God affirms every action. But it does mean that God’s desire for every person is the same. He’s not rooting for one team over the other.

Since God is uniquely concerned and actively rooting for every individual, there is no situation in which his followers shouldn’t be doing the same.
If we find ourselves set against someone, including a brother or sister, it’s important that we do our part to resolve the situation now. While perfect reconciliation is not always possible, we must do the work of keeping our motives and actions toward others pure and unadulterated (God can and will help with this).

Jesus says that you can’t offer any genuine sacrifice to God if you’re at odds with another human being. Why? Because to be set against another person is to be at odds with God and His Kingdom.

When the Spirit of God is directing our thoughts, our feelings toward others always circle back to their well-being. As the mind of Christ is formed in us, we care less and less about who’s right or who’s wrong, who’s winning or who’s losing, about who needs to ask for forgiveness or who needs to offer it. Wholeness and restoration for the other matter more than being vindicated or justified in our “rightness.”

God roots for everyone. Why not join the fanbase?
 
Are there ways in which you have let yourself be set against someone, whether due to something obvious like an open conflict, or more subtle like rivalry or jealousy at work? Ask God for forgiveness, and then pray that He “open the eyes of your heart” so that your thoughts – and behavior – toward others are in harmony with His own.