I'm trying to recall if I've ever seen an offering in church interrupted. I've been to at least one, two or three services a week since I was one week old, but my mind goes blank on this one.

Yet Jesus is saying here in this passage that You should interrupt your gift-giving to Him if you suddenly recall that someone has a peeve against you. You should stop right there, even if you're up to the altar with your gift. Like, ready to sacrifice it to Him. Just put it down right there and go be reconciled to the person with whom you have a conflict. Then you come back to your offering to God.

This says loud and clear that God wants us to be in right fellowship, not at odds with anyone we know, before we worship Him with sacrificial gifts. That we have all differences cleared up is top priority with Him.

Let's be honest. Let's stop and think; who is there that could say truthfully before God that we have offended them? Is a little list forming in your mind? What of ones who have not said as much, but who behave as if they have a grudge against you?

Now, don't jump to conclusions over teeny-weeny-tiny things. That's often a bluff we do to avoid thinking about the biggies.

I've got a little list; one I'm not quite sure of. But now we both know what God wants us to do. We are to contact them in person and humbly seek to resolve the matter that has upset them.

There are, naturally sometimes, problem of distance, and of persons not easy to find, or who may not want to talk with us. I heard some good advice for this once - prepare yourself before God to be willing to confess wrong or ask forgiveness if and when that person can be reached or found. Then ask God to bring it to pass. God has been known to coordinate astonishing meetings.

Ruth Marlene Friesen The Responsible One