READ: ROMANS 12:16-21; EPHESIANS 4:31-32; 2 TIMOTHY 2:22-26

Have you ever worked on a complex math problem, only to realize that you made a mistake partway through? By the time you get to the end, there’s no fixing it. All you can do is start over from the beginning.

The same can be true in our relationships with other people. Sometimes, we realize that a problem has been building and building in our relationship with a friend or family member. And the only way to fix it is to go back to the beginning of the problem.

Often, this means we’ll have to admit where we did something wrong and apologize. This can be difficult to do, but God is eager to help us. He invites us to admit our sins to Him, remembering that He forgives us, and He helps bring us into right relationship with others.

How does God help us in our relationships? Well, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, God made the way to bring us into right relationship with Himself. He forgave our sins, giving us His righteousness and restoring us to friendship with God. And if Jesus restored that relationship, He can help restore our friendships too. Because of His forgiveness, we can admit the things we’ve done wrong, and we can also forgive others for the ways they’ve wronged us.

So, when we get into a fight with someone, we can think back to the beginning. We can ask ourselves where we said or did unkind things, and we can ask Jesus to show us how we caused hurt. We can confess our sins to Jesus and rest in His sure forgiveness, and we can also pray for the other person and ask Him to heal the hurts we’ve caused each other. Then, we can go to that person and talk it over. It can be tempting to carry a grudge, but when we rely on Jesus—the ultimate restorer of relationships—we can admit our mistakes and our sins, we can experience forgiveness, and our friendships can be restored. • A. W. Smith

• How can knowing that Jesus restored our relationship with God help us lean on Him to restore our other relationships?

• Is there a relationship you’re struggling with? Consider spending some time in prayer, asking Jesus to help you see where you caused hurt and asking Him for forgiveness and healing in that relationship. Remember, forgiving someone doesn’t always mean being in close relationship with them, and full restoration may only come when Jesus returns. If your situation involves a deep hurt, who is a trusted adult in your life who could help you set up loving boundaries?

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone…not resentful. 2 Timothy 2:24 (NIV)