Last week I introduced the idea of resolving our past so we can move into the future with a clear conscience. I shared how God revealed numerous instances locked away in my memory that needed restitution and forgiveness. One of those involved a broken relationship I had not instigated. In other words, someone turned against me without any apparent reason. I searched my heart and turned up empty. Wasn’t he therefore responsible to reach out to me for the forgiveness I had to offer?

I came across two passages that indicated otherwise. Matthew 5:23-24 could not have been more clear: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

The second passage (Matthew 18:21-35) gave me further pause. A servant owed his king an unimaginable sum of money; it was certainly beyond his ability to ever pay back the amount. The king forgave the man, releasing him fully from the debt. Unfortunately, this servant found a colleague who owed him a measly amount and demanded immediate repayment. Rather than granting him grace as he had been shown, the servant threw the man in prison where he was unable to work on paying back what was owed. The point in the passage is clear: those whom God has forgiven much should be able to easily forgive those who have offended them little by comparison. Furthermore, those of us who are “free” should release others who are not from whatever debts they may owe us. We are responsible to free people from prisons of their own making—in some cases, offenses they carry against us.

Both passages compelled me to seek out the person with whom my relationship was broken. His response was positive and the relationship restored.