_FIRST, MY BROTHER!_
MATTHEW v. 17-24.
"First be reconciled to thy brother." We are to put first things first.
When we bring a gift unto the Lord He looks at the hand that brings it. If
the hand is defiled the gift is rejected. "Wash you, make you clean."
"First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
All this tells us why some resplendent gifts are rejected, and why some
commonplace gifts are received amid heavenly song. This is why the widow's
mite goes shining through the years. The hand that offered it was hallowed
and purified with sacrifice. Shall we say that in that palm there was
something akin to the pierced hands of the Lord? The mite had intimate
associations with the Cross.
And it also tells me why so much of our public worship is offensive to our
Lord. We come to the church from a broken friendship. Some holy thing has
been broken on the way. Someone's estate has been invaded, and his
treasure spoiled. Someone has been wronged, and God will not touch our
gift. "Leave there thy gift; first be reconciled to thy brother."