Wednesday; February 5
We spend a
lot of time in the religious world talking about how important it is to protect
those who are the victims of social injustice and defending those who are
falsely accused. Yet, have you ever
thought about our responsibilities to those who are paying a just price for the
bad decisions they have made? Whether it
is the natural result of a sin they committed or the legal consequence of a
crime they committed there are people who find themselves burdened by their own
bad choices. So, what do we do with
them? When Jesus told His disciples of
their responsibility to visit those in prison (Matthew 25:36) and when He
welcomed Peter back into His inner circle after he denied knowing Him in the
midst of His greatest crisis, the Lord taught us about how far we should be
willing to go to support people who messed up.
So, now that we see the
need to be there for people, how do we do it?
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Pray for them. Our prayer may be for forgiveness, wisdom,
honesty, relief – or a myriad of other things – but, when we seek the presence
of God in the situation, we tap into a source of righteousness, clarity and
comfort.
2. Visit with them. Just because we spend time with people in
trouble doesn’t mean that we approve of their actions or endorse their
choices. Holding them accountable does
not necessarily mean that we hold them at a distance.
3. Forgive them. When people do bad things, their most
important need is for forgiveness.
Again, forgiving someone doesn’t mean that we condone their choice, in
fact it is just the opposite. We realize
their sin, but are willing to do what we can to help them put it behind them.
Helping people in self-created crisis can be tough. As we work with people in this condition,
let’s remember God’s promise, “Be strong and
courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your
God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
(Deuteronomy 31:6).
Think About It!