Saw these verses…
”Brothers and sisters, if someone in your group does something wrong, you who are spiritual should go to that person and gently help make him right again.
But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin, too. By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.
If anyone thinks he is important when he really is not, he is only fooling himself.” – Galatians 6:1-3
… and thought of a leader, really far away, who, when I went to them with a confession, shared my confession with our peers.
It was an incredible betrayal.
I was reminded of Joseph, who said:
“You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done.” – Genesis 50:20
and David who wrote:
“It was not an enemy insulting me. I could stand that. It was not someone who hated me. I could hide from him. But it is you, a person like me, my companion and good friend. We had a good friendship and walked together to God’s Temple.” – Psalm 55:12-14
I understand, now, the ‘save the lives of many people’ part.
The incident taught me the humanity of those whom I may have put on pedestals and it taught me how to be significantly more compassionate with those overcoming their own challenges.
I’m prefacing the first chapter of my book, “The names have been changed to protect the forgiven.”
Thankfully, I know what it is to NEED to be forgiven, to BE forgiven, and then, to FORGIVE.
Please, remember these verses when someone comes to you in repentance seeking to be reconciled.
“If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again.” – Matthew 18:15
“But do not treat them as enemies. Warn them as fellow believers.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:15
“Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.” – Ephesians 4:32
“Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13
“My brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders away from the truth, and someone helps that person come back, remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death and will cause many sins to be forgiven.” – James 5:19-20
Please, help people make a comeback.
