Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar,
and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Matthew 5:23-24
God doesn’t like breeches.
In fact, if we hold a grudge or haven’t done all we can to remedy a situation,
we could fall from the grace of God.
We have responsibilities before Christ.
Jesus never gave us an out.
People give us outs, excuses,
reasons we don’t have to apply God’s commands to a given situation,
God does not.
Yes, He is gracious. Yes, He forgives.
It is our responsibility before Him to bring our failings to Him.
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Proverbs 28:13
We will know what to do because He will make clear what He wants us to do,
that is, if we are listening and sensitive to the Holy Spirit,
and are not justifying our hatred or condemnation of another.
If it’s nothing to be concerned about, He will make that clear as well.
Assuming we know what God wants from us, if we haven’t asked,
is just that, assuming.
Remain humble.
It can be difficult to go before someone you with whom you have had difficultly and admit wrong or listen to their side of the story,
or to treat them with kindness and love when they have done you wrong.
It takes humility. It takes courage and it takes love.
If we treat others as we would if he or she were Christ,
we will please the Lord.
Of course Christ would not have done something wrong to us,
but loving them for Him, in His honor, will please Him.
And forgiving them anyway, even if they don’t deserve it, will also please Him.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32