Dave's Diary

Prayer

Before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on John 8:36

Lord Jesus,
Revealer of all Truth –
Teach me Your Truth
and set me free to live by it,
that I may be free indeed!
Amen.

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word.

Reading

Matthew 18:15-18

Yesterday we saw how God’s heart of love moves Him to pursue the person who has wandered from Him, longing to bring them home to His Kingdom Family of Love.

In today’s passage Jesus calls us to adopt the same heart when a fellow believer (v.15) sins against us personally; and then He lays out four stages of that pursuit:

First, we are simply to muster up the courage and go to the offending person one-on-one to explain to them how their actions have impacted us (v.15). And remember, our heart here is not pridefully and self-righteously to make them feel guilty or ashamed, but humbly and graciously to restore our relationship.

Secondly, if that private approach fails, we are to take another one or two believers with us to repeat our explanation (v.16). Again our heart is not to embarrass the person we feel has offended against us, but humbly to enlist the help of other believers who might have a better perspective and be able to mediate between the two of us for the sake of restoring our relationship.

Thirdly, if even that effort fails to bring restoration, we are to enlist the help of the local church to which we both belong (v.17a). Most likely Jesus meant for the elders of the local church to be enlisted to help us to reach out to the person concerned with mediation efforts.

Finally, if even that approach by church eldership fails to change the person’s hardness of heart towards us, Jesus encourages us to release the person by treating them “as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” (v.17b) And before you assume that means that we write them off, stop to remember how Jesus treated pagans and tax collectors!

This is not a call to write them off. It is a call to forgive them from your heart, and then continue gently keeping the doors open in grace, hoping and praying for the moment when they will come to you as the prodigal son came to the Father. For, as Jesus said, “Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (v.18b). So do not imprison (“bind”) that offending person to their sin by holding a grudge. Release them (“loose them”) through forgiveness and keep the door of your heart unlocked for their return one day.

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn one or more of these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ:

• I will never give up on a fellow believer who sins against me.
• I will pursue them in the way Jesus commands.
• I will pray for us to be restored to one another, even after all other efforts fail.

Heavenly Father, please fill me with Your heart of love towards those who have sinned against me, and give me the grace to pursue them with Your love. Amen.