So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

In December I finished the two-year course of study of our synod's Lay School for Mission program. One of our classes was about worship. We learned the Biblical basis for different parts of our worship service. When I saw this text, I remembered that this is why we share the peace before giving our offering.

You see, God is all powerful. He does not need what we can give in offering. Everything is already his. But, when we bring our gift to the altar, it is a symbol of our love. And how can we truly love our God, who we have not "seen," without first loving our neighbor, whom we can "see"? A broken relationship can be sickening and corrosive. When we have a problem or a grievance with a friend or family member, it corrodes our very hearts.

God knows our hearts. Before we can make an offering of our love for him, we must first make things right with our neighbor. This makes our hearts right before God. This is the offering that he truly desires.