December 12
Healing
the Divide
"First go and make peace with your brother or sister. Then come back and offer your gift."
Matthew 5:24 (NIrV)
Will and Gina’s home was no longer a home. It was a battlefield. What had started as an argument over money had spiraled into something much worse. Accusations flew like daggers—You never think about our future! You spend recklessly! You don’t trust me! You only care about yourself! Words that once brought comfort and love now carried only pain.
Now, they barely spoke. Will slept in the guest room. Gina took her meals in the kitchen while Will ate alone in the living room. They moved around the house like strangers, each too proud, too hurt to break the silence.
One Sunday morning, Will got up early, dressed for church, and left without a word. He sat in the pew, barely listening, his mind replaying every bitter exchange, every moment that had widened the gulf between him and Gina. Then, the pastor read from Matthew 5:24: “First go and make peace with your brother or sister. Then come back and offer your gift.”
The words struck him. He had come to worship, to pray, but how could he truly seek God when his heart was filled with resentment? How could he expect grace when he wasn’t willing to extend it?
That evening, he hesitated outside Gina’s door. His pride told him to turn around, but his heart knew better. He knocked. The door opened slightly, and Gina stood there, guarded.
“I’m sorry,” Will said, his voice rough. “For what I said. For how I’ve treated you. I don’t want us to be like this.”
Gina’s eyes filled with tears. “Me too,” she whispered.
It wasn’t instant healing. Wounds don’t disappear overnight. But it was a start—a step toward peace, toward grace, toward rebuilding what had been broken.
Prayer:
Lord, You call us to reconciliation, but sometimes our pride and pain keep us apart.
Help me to seek peace in my relationships, to let go of resentment, and to extend the same grace You have given me.
Give me the courage to take the first step, even when it’s hard. Let my heart be a reflection of Your love.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
