"Be Reconciled"--Authority

Be Reconciled Meditation Commentary

“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught 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

“That they may be one; as thou, Father, art I me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one . . .”—John 17:21-23

            Understanding how to submit to authorities will influence the way you interact in every other relationship.  A lot of times we want to be independent, and stand up for our rights, but when we are in authority under people, we are forced to submit our wills and rights to them.  This is actually good practice for other relationships as well.  Reconciliation requires an attitude of submission.  When we are in a conflict with someone, submitting to one another, (as Ephesians 5:21 says to do), is essential to resolving the conflict.  We have to lay down our own rights and view ourselves as a servant a lot of times when we want to reconcile with people.  It takes humility to admit we are wrong, and even more humility to go to someone and attempt to reconcile when you are still convinced you are right, and the other person has not apologized.  The best example of reconciliation comes from our ultimate authority, who as our Lord and Master, washed our feet (John 13:14).  Our mandate of reconciliation is based on His example.  “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)  Philippians 2 describes the way that Jesus humbled Himself as a servant in order to reconcile us to Him.  We have to do the same thing to reconcile with people.  Preferring others before yourself is a very important act of our Christian life.  When we are under authority, we have to acknowledge the authority as right in many circumstances to keep the job or the peace or whatever the situation is.   If we esteem others as better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), as we do our authorities, reconciliation becomes a much easier process.