the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
He who conceals his sins will not succeed (Proverbs 28:13).
The wrongs we commit against one another do not simply go away. If they are left unaddressed, these wrongs can destroy a friendship. Confession and repentance (teshuvah) must be embraced or the alternative will be inevitable—a trail of dead friendships at the end of our lives.
Confession—the "I am sorry" part—must be faced. Honest regret must be expressed. But confession apart from teshuvah—the "I won't do it again" part—is just a dead work. It has been compared to a man who seeks ritual purification through immersion in water while holding a defiling dead reptile in his hand. Put another way, it is like a surgeon who sterilizes his equipment and then proceeds to perform surgery without washing his hands or putting on sterile gloves. Teshuvah requires a change in behavior, a return to God, a forsaking of the pattern of sin. Transgressions against our fellow man require restitution and reconciliation with the one who was wronged.
Yeshua taught, "So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).
...resurrect a languishing friendship by expressing my heartfelt sorrow and following it up with actions that will reconcile me with my friend.
JEF
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
