Ought Against Thee

“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). Every Sunday we have the opportunity to bring a gift of a broken heart and a contrite spirit to the altar, or the sacrament table. As part of the Ordinance of the Sacrament, we covenant that we are willing to take upon us the Name of Christ. Just as a child would take upon themselves the name of their parent, when we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, we become the children of God. Who did Jesus in this very same chapter promise would be called the children of God? The peacemakers. If we are to truly offer up the gift of repentance and take upon us the name of Christ and be called the children of God, then we must be peacemakers. If anyone has ought against us, then we must be reconciled to them, we must make peace with them, before we can bring our gift to the altar. In the preceding two verses, Jesus warns about the dangers of us being angry, or having ought against our brothers and sisters, but that is not enough. We also have to reconcile the ought that our brothers and sisters have against us. We have to make peace. We can’t be called the children of God, we can’t fully take the name of Christ upon ourselves, if there are people around us to whom we have not yet reconciled. Christ did not leave the Garden of Gethsemane until He had atoned for the sins of every last one of His brothers and sisters. He did not lay the ultimate gift upon the altar until there was not a single brother or sister to whom He had not yet reconciled. One of His very last acts was to plead for forgiveness even for His executioners. By the time that He said “It is finished” not one soul in all of God’s family had ought against Him. He had made peace with them all. We can’t always control when or how those who have ought against us will forgive us and let go of their anger, but we can plead with the Prince of Peace to reconcile us and them, however impossible it may seem. And once we have fully forgiven them, and once they’ve fully forgiven us, until we are truly and completely reconciled, then may we both return to the altar and offer up the gift of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and having become peacemakers we can finally take upon us the Name of Christ and be called the Children of God.