Make Friends Quickly - Message #339

Violence, hatred, animosity; they are all with us in abundance. Our world seems to hurdle from one war to another. The Middle East remains a volatile region, but our own homes can be, and often are, just as volatile. Whole nations may be at war, but husbands and wives live in the midst of just as much hostility. Thousands of children are victimized by violence on television and popularized in rock music. In the midst of all of this, it is little wonder that men and women are seeking peace. There is a need for marital peace, family peace, national peace, and world peace. Where will it be found?

Jesus Christ commands, "Make friends quickly" (Matthew 5:25). But how? Jesus again says, "Be reconciled to your brother" (Matthew 5:24). Now get this, Jesus is telling us that that other person has something against us! In other words, we are the ones who are in the wrong. As Jesus explains in Matthew 7:4, "First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

There we have it. We must look at ourselves first. We must acknowledge our own sin first. Sure, that other fellow or gal has some problems. But we will never be able to address the other person's problems if we persist in ignoring our own. So making friends quickly involves going to that other person, perhaps a spouse, and confessing our own sin and begging forgiveness.

The same thing is true with God. We must confess our own sins and beg God's forgiveness. We must trust that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty we owe for our sins. Yes, we must be reconciled to our neighbors. But we must also be reconciled to God! Both of these things are involved in making friends quickly.

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