Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15
The
desire of God for His people to live in peace with each other is so
important that He does not leave it with the one who caused the offense,
He gives responsibility for peace to the one that is offended. This
runs counter to how the world seeks peace. In the world, the one who
caused the offense is required to take the initiative in bringing about
peace. For instance, we sinned, but God took the initiative for
bringing us to the place of reconciliation with Himself.
In
the natural, this will seem unfair, because in the world, it is the one
who caused the offense that initiates the process of reconciliation by
acknowledging his wrong. However, Jesus teaches differently. In divine
wisdom, the person who is wronged goes to the one who did the wrong, and
shows him the wrong done.
There
is a possibility that the one who did the wrong may not even realize
that he did something that caused an offense, therefore, by showing the
offender his wrong, you, who was offended, are helping to bring the
offender to the place where he is able to say "I am sorry." This is how
offenses are settled in the economy of God. When this is not done, there
is a chance that the person will continue to do the same thing that
caused the offense because he doesn't know that it hurts the other
person. But someone may say, "He should know...", but what if he does
not know? This is why Jesus commands the one offended to go to the one
who caused the offence and show him the wrong done.
Have
you been offended? Give the offender the opportunity to say, I am
sorry, by telling him that you were offended by his actions. Don't
expect him to know when you have not told him.
Toni
