Day Fourteen

Day Fourteen

"Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him."  II Corinthians 2:5-8

As Steve and I read this section earlier, we both kind of scratched our heads and wondered who on earth Paul was referring to; who had done this horrendous act that was causing such a stir?  And then we questioned how Paul could be so politically correct as to not offer condemnation to said soul but instead to reach out his hand--while encouraging others--to restore such a brother back to the fold.

I am pretty sure we all know some folks who have really blown it.  Beyond messed up, they did some crime/sin against another or a group of folks that they appear to be in no way, shape, or form deserving of mercy.  Well, maybe down the road--way down the road--forgiveness might be offered but first there must be proper payment for this huge infraction.  Yeah, s/he probably needs to be "overwhelmed by excessive sorrow" first so s/he can truly know the depths of this blight against humanity.  And offer comfort to this individual?  Are you kidding me?  Comfort him when he just blew my world apart?  Offer her sympathy lest she be the one who's discouraged?  Seriously??

Yes.  Seriously.  Though it goes against almost every fiber of our beings, we are to forgive.  To extend mercy.  To offer assistance.  To restore this one who was so broken and confused that they lost their power to reason, to separate truth from fiction.  To open blinded hearts and soften hardened hearts that indeed are overwhelmed with a sorrow that those who don't know Christ Jesus must surely feel in the deepest recesses of their soul where the battle for survival takes place.

And no (in case you were wondering) these words are not easy for me to write and they have been terrifically hard to implement in my life.  I've been through some things that threatened to consume me with the sadness, unfairness, and painfulness that resulted from the wiles of the devil who used--or tried to use--certain situations to tear apart God's children and to make them want to turn away from Him.  I've done my share of questioning why God allowed trials in my life that consumed, embittered, and at times threatened my sanity.  So no, again, I don't say these words lightly.  Read the paragraph above again where I wrote "though it goes against almost every fiber of our beings."  Almost every fiber but not the ones that the blood of Christ has woven together, pieced back into a garment of righteousness, and sewn with so much love that how could I of all sinners dare to not offer that same compassion that God showed me when He sent Jesus to me as payment for my many transgressions?

Ahh, friends, my heart too is so grieved right now over the Orlando Shootings.  I have friends who are gay that perhaps are more easily targeted than my heterosexual friends.  I have friends who "live in sin" with someone for a myriad of reasons that I don't necessarily agree with.  I myself live with someone who is so far from perfect that I wonder how she thinks she can get up each day and write down words to encourage others when she is the one in need of more teaching, more grace, more lessons on forgiveness.  

Let's close with this rephrasing of our passage today, replacing our name each applicable pronoun, shall we?  I'll go first!

Now if Stefanie has caused pain, she has caused it not to me, but in some measure--not to put it too severely--to all of you.  For such a one as Stefanie, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort Stefanie, or she may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  So I beg you to reaffirm your love to Stefanie.

Ouch.  Can't say that one didn't hurt but putting my name in the place of the one who caused so much harm sure brought it home to me.  May the Lord convict you in the areas of your life where you need it most and may you be surrounded by those who are willing to restore you is my urgent hope for you all this morning.  Tough love, baby?  Yes.  But gentle restoration and comfort by those who have fallen as well brings us all closer to emulating the love of Christ.  Do you concur?