About correcting
another believer…”If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the
church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person
as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” Mathew 18:17
It’s an “ah-ha!”
moment this morning after spending a good while perusing the Bible for today’s
passage. I have no idea where the understanding evolved that treating a fellow believer like a pagan or tax collector meant banishment or walking away from them. That’s
how I’d always interpreted this passage. Was I wrong!! So terribly, terribly
wrong. (Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy.)
Instead, I believe
Jesus is telling us to take it back a notch. Instead of trying to force the
issue or demanding something be corrected, we treat the person with love. We
treat the person as a non-believer, starting all over again with whom Jesus is
and what his life, death and life represents. We let the life and teachings of
Jesus do the “correcting”. And they will, according to God’s time.
These are personal
matters for God to contend with. Only God knows what lay in a person’s heart,
what hurts, what challenges, or what is stopping them from being able to receive
His love. He even knows why they (me, too!) get it wrong.
Perhaps an earthly
father who did harm gets in the way of knowing a heavenly Father.
Perhaps an earthly
spouse who did harm gets in the way of knowing Jesus as Bridegroom.
Perhaps it was another
believer who did harm despite their “good intentions”…Or sadly, through an
abuse of religious authority.
Lord, be with those
who have been sexually abused by priests and pastors and church leaders. If my
heart breaks at the thought, Your pain must be more than I could ever bear. Be
with the wounded, comfort them and bring them out of the shadows. Break the
silence of shame so a journey into freedom can begin. In Jesus’ name I pray.
I also pray for the
people I have harmed in Your name because it wasn’t in Your name at all.
These are heavy
thoughts for a beautiful, sunny day. Even so, I can’t help but smile because I
have learned one more thing about love.
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