Making Amends

 When we have a broken relationship with another person, it is always right for us to forgive the other person and to seek reconciliation. Of course, if we were the one who caused the break, we should ask for the other person to forgive us, but in some situations we need to do more than to just ask for them to forgive us. We need to make amends for what we have done.

David's reign as king over the people of God was being hindered by Saul's sin of trying to kill the Gibeonites. There had not been a resolution of the problem before Saul died, so they were still upset by Saul's sin. (II Samuel 21:3) David said to the Gibeonites, "What should I do for you? And how can I make amends, so that you will bless the inheritance of the Lord?" This is something for all of us to do when needed.

God wants us to be at peace with everyone. He knows that sometimes no matter what we do, the other person or the other group, will not accept our attempts to make peace, but we must do whatever we can do on our part to bring peace. (Romans 12:18) Therefore, when we see there are still hard feelings, and they are still feeling like we owe them something, we need to make amends.

Making amends is a process where we humble ourselves, and we go out of our way to do what is needed to help the other person or group to know we are serious about seeking reconciliation with them. It will cost us, time, energy, and maybe money, but it is worth it, if they will speak well of us, and we can be on good terms after that. God sees our efforts, and He blesses us because we cared enough to make amends.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 22-24 and I Kings 1.