Mar 21: Insight Post by Karenna Rowenhorst
Weekly Reading: Matthew 5:21-26
Friday Reflection
Seek Reconciliation Quickly: Jesus warns that we should reconcile with others quickly to avoid greater conflict. Delaying resolution allows anger to fester, which can lead to even bigger problems.
Friday Verse
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NLT)
Friday Questions
How can I take immediate steps to resolve conflicts in my life and promote peace with those around me? What practical actions can I take to reconcile quickly and prevent anger from festering, ensuring that I cultivate a peaceful and harmonious environment?
Friday Insight Post
by Karenna Rowenhorst
When I picture the scene of Jesus teaching the Sermon on the Mount, I wonder what the people who were listening to Him were thinking. I’m sure they were drawn by what they had heard or seen about Jesus, but I can imagine they still had many questions. Jesus claimed that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. He told people that He came to fulfill God’s covenant with Israel, and He showed His power by healing many sicknesses and performing other miracles. This was a man you needed to make up your mind about. His claims, if they were true, would change everything, and people were eager to understand Him.
We know that the Jewish people were remarkably familiar with following the laws of God as explained to them by the religious leaders and Pharisees. I think it would be natural for them to wonder if they would qualify to be part of the Kingdom of God the way Jesus proclaimed it. Then and today, we, as humans, can get caught up in the list of rules or regulations we think need to be followed to gain entrance to organizations, clubs, or levels of achievement. We focus on the external things.
Jesus’ radical statements in the Sermon on the Mount help us see just how far God wanted His message to reach: all the way to our hearts. Jesus takes the example of three serious sins that were “on the books” – murder, adultery, and breaking an oath- and expands them out much farther than anyone would’ve imagined. The idea that your internal thought life could be subjected to God’s law was something new for the Jewish people to understand, and it’s something we continue to struggle with today. We can avoid all the “big ticket” sins and think we are doing just fine! We may even look at people who have struggled with those sins and think satisfied thoughts in our mind- I’m not that bad, so I must be pretty good!
Anger is a particularly easy emotion to fall into. What you do with it is the much harder part. Some of us hide it away, some deny it, some explode it out and make sure everyone else knows about it.
I wish I knew who to attribute this piece of wisdom to, but it is something I heard a while ago that has stuck with me: “If you don’t talk it out, you’ll act it out.”
Meaning, if you don’t talk about your feelings of anger, resentment, frustration, etc. with the other person, then the way you act toward that person will be different. Your actions will show how you feel, and they may not be good, or the way Jesus would want you to live. That anger will fuel your behavior. It will guide your reactions and words the next time you interact with them.
It can be so hard to bring up what makes you angry or what has caused an argument, but the problem is, if we don’t talk about it, we are only making the situation worse. Hebrews 12:14 says “Work at living at peace with everyone…”. Don’t miss that first word- work!! Work is hard!! It takes effort, determination, dedication, and patience.
Let’s ask God today to show us what is required to work for peace in our lives. Who do we need to reconcile with? Who do we need to ask for forgiveness? Who do we need to show up for? Who do we need to show love even though we may feel it is undeserved? Let’s talk it out, have the hard conversation, ask for forgiveness, and pray for understanding to see the situation from God’s point of view.
Karenna Rowenhorst, MA
Senior Director of Education
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org