I’m Sorry, Man

May 16, 2013 — by Dave Branon

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Be reconciled to your brother. —Matthew 5:24

Bible in a Year:
2 Kings 24-25; John 5:1-24

When my son-in-law Ewing and I attended a sporting event, we enjoyed watching both the game and the people around us.
One of those people showed both the bad and good side of humanity. This man had apparently lost track of his seat. As he was looking for it, he stood squarely between us and the field. A man sitting in front of us also had his view blocked, so he told the guy, “Could you move? We can’t see.”
The lost man responded sarcastically, “Too bad.” A second request got a similar but more heated response. Finally the man moved on. Later came a surprise. He returned and told the man he had blocked, “Hey, I’m sorry, man. I was upset that I couldn’t find my seat.” They shook hands and the incident ended well.
That interaction made me think. As we go through life striving to find our way, situations may frustrate us and cause us to respond to others in an un-Christlike way. If so, we must ask God to give us the courage to apologize to those we have offended. Our worship, according to Jesus, depends on it (Matt. 5:23-24).
We honor God when we make reconciliation with others a priority. After we have been reconciled, we can then fully enjoy communion with our heavenly Father.

It’s not easy, Lord, to swallow our pride and ask
others to forgive us. But You want us to seek
reconciliation before worship can take place.
Help us to seek forgiveness when necessary.

Confession of sin is the soil in which forgiveness flourishes.