I recently had a really troubling conversation with someone about a former friend of theirs. Their friend made a really big mistake and it cost them severely in their marriage. The way that they were talked about and the way that they were abandoned by so many of their friends broke my heart and I was puzzled why it wasn’t breaking the hearts of their friends. Or their church. It seems as though people only see them as their mistake. People only saw them as a bad guy.
When it comes to man, I’m not sure if there is always such a thing as “good” guys and “bad” guys – it isn’t that black and white. We are all broken people living in relationship with one another. We are bound to make mistakes and damage those relationships in the process. But our action, our sin, does not define us. It isn’t fair to deem a person wholly good or wholly bad.
Our actions sure have consequences, but those consequences should never be abandonment from the Church. The Church isn’t just for the people that have been hurt, it is for people that have hurt others as well. I think that what we all forget is that we are all one sentence, one action away from becoming a “bad” guy ourselves. We are all capable of moral failure. Don’t ever forget that.
Think about yourself, your ministry, and your church. How do you think about others who have sinned? How are you teaching your ministry to love those who are hard to love? Do you, do your students, does your church, fully believe that the Church is for everyone?
Colton
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