Shalom and hope you are having a good day and thank you for joining us in meditating God’s word. We have been spending this time looking at the theme of restoration and I trust that it’s been a time of healing and knowing that God desires to restore your life. For our devotion today, we are going to be looking at another aspect of restoration which is restoration of relationships. The theme of relationship restoration is prevalent in the bible. We would see very many accounts and narratives of how relationships are restored. Let’s read from Mathew chapter 5, verses 23 to 24, ‘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.’ God consistently emphasizes the importance of relationships and reconciling when they are strained or when they are broken. The grandest restoration that we can see is when He restored His relationship with mankind, with us, when He sent Jesus and through the sacrifice of Jesus. So, you and I are called to prioritize our relationships seeking reconciliation when conflicts occur/ arise. It requires that humility, love and a willingness to forgive and to move forward. Through this verse, we see the importance that Jesus placed on reconciliation with others even before religious rituals. He emphasizes that the restoring of broken relationships is more important that a gift at the altar. This really emphasizes the way God values harmonious relationships in our lives. It also states that God’s heart is towards having us live in harmony and love with each other. We see that this verse suggests that the person should take the initiative in seeking reconciliation. Even if you are not the one who is wronged, it is important to approach the other person to mend that relationship. These verses highlight how deep God’s concern is for our relationships. If God cares about how we relate to one another to this extent, it really means that our relationships have a central place in our spiritual walk with God. By seeking reconciliation quickly, what does it do? It prevents bitterness, resentment and even anger from really taking root in the depth of our hearts and we know that this can have real devastating effects in our spiritual and emotional wellbeing. If there are strained relationships in your life, prayerfully consider the steps that you might need to take towards restoration and reconciliation. Lean on the wisdom of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Remember that restoration is a process and while you can do your part, the outcome might also depend on the other person as well. However, remember God honors the heart that seeks peace in relationships. Let’s pray together, Heavenly Father, we come to you and I bring before you everyone who is listening and coming to you with strained relationships. You have promised that you are the restorer of all things and we come to you, even as people make this step forward to initiate reconciliation that your wisdom, love, forgiveness will go forth and do its work, thank you for hearing our prayer, in Jesus’s name, Amen.

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