Numbers 5:5-7 - The Lord said to Moses, “Say
to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and
so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty and must confess the
sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong
they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person
they have wronged.
Moses was given clear directions from God that any sin that
hurt or caused another a loss of any kind must be confessed. But God’s directions did not stop there. This sin…that caused someone else a loss…had
to be paid back in full…with another 1/5th on top of it. It immediately made my mind think of step 8
of the Celebrate Recovery Program…which is based on scripture. It says… “We made a list of all persons we had harmed
and became willing to make amends to them all…Do to others as you would have them do to
you…Luke 6:31.”
Zacchaeus modeled
for us how freeing and joyous it makes one to follow this directive from God in
Luke 19. He went way beyond what God
required…giving half of all he had gained with his sinful attitude to the poor…then
offering to pay anyone he had cheated 4 times the amount he had taken from them.
In his deep conviction of the sin he had committed…and his excitement in
forgiveness… he could do nothing else.
There is a tricky
thing to remember about making amends. The
story of Zacchaeus does not include how many people came forward for payment.
We are only told of Zacchaeus’s willingness to give it back. We are not told
that these people forgave him and accepted him after his act of restitution….only
that he did it.
Making amends is
not always a guarantee of repairing the relationship that was broken. Making amends is for your heart alone…to show
God that you realize your wrong…and are completely repentant of what do have
done that hurt someone else. I remember the moment I was convicted of my art in
the divorce. I let his infidelity block
my own part for a long time….but special father’s day the message finally broke
through to my heart and convicted me that in many ways… I was just as guilty as
he.
I sat down that
afternoon and wrote him an apology letter…which I felt very strongly should be
sent. He totally missed the point of why I sent it...and I almost let that
emotion keep me from experiencing the sweet release that forgiveness brings
when you let go of the hurt and let God begin to heal your pain. I almost missed the point that writing that
letter was for me and God…I wasn’t supposed to expect to get anything back.
Father…thank you
for the reminder that making restitution provides a strong feeling of
repentance and forgiveness in our hearts. Forgive me for the times that I have failed
to make amends to those that I have hurt…or expect an apology from those that
you have not convicted of their sin yet.
Help me to accept all things in your timing…so you can help me grow into
what you need me to be. Amen.
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