People fail… and that’s okay. It isn’t okay to sin, obviously, but Jesus died and rose again to set us free from sin and condemnation, so we don’t have to walk around with the burden of guilt.
But sometimes, we place our trust in human beings; we believe they’ll be there for us through thick and thin or we have expectations and then get hurt or upset when they don’t hold up to them. But our trust should be placed in God and we have to come to the place when we understand that we are all sinners, so we will all fail.
Your friends and family will fail you. It’s inevitable. At some point, it will happen. They will let you down. But God never will. He’ll never leave or forsake you, so when the whole world walks away, He’s the God who stays.
So, when a fellow Believer sins and we see that they need help, what should we do? Our job is to lovingly confront them about their sin. But we have to make sure that our hearts are in the right place. It has to come from a place of humility and not arrogance. That is something I have learned in my own experiences the hard way. Understand that you are just as sinful as they are, so your job is to lovingly show them their sin and leave the rest up to God and the Holy Spirit’s work inside them.
No matter how much we may want to, we cannot control other people or force them to think or believe a certain way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to force others to believe what I want them to. I hate it when people believe lies and don’t see the truth. Needless to say, that this has gotten me in a lot of trouble over the years, and I am still learning and growing. But the fact is, they have their free will and it’s still a gift from God. So, our job is to lovingly point out their sin and to help them when and where necessary and leave the rest up to God.
But sometimes, helping people can be such a burden. When we see sin in others, it’s easy to want to let it go. “God will handle it” or “It’s not my place.” I have even heard where people don’t want to help. “It’s too much of a burden.” “No one can deal with this.”
What if Jesus said that about us? “I’m sorry, but your sin is just too much. You have too much addiction or you feel worthless, or you rely on other people too much, or you have experienced too much lust. You’ve taken My Name in vain too many times. You’ve dishonored your parents too often.”
We would be totally screwed.
If Jesus decided we were too heavy a burden, we would all be eternally damned in hell. Yes, we are humans and we can only deal with so much. I’m not saying to let people walk all over you.
But if we are supposed to be like Christ, to shine His Light in the world, and be the examples, then shouldn’t we try to support other Believers through their struggles? Shouldn’t we have more patience? More compassion? More empathy? More understanding? More humility?
Less judgement? Less arrogance? Less condemnation?
Here’s the key: we should be like Christ and be imitating Him, but we AREN’T Christ. Which means that while we are supposed to be acting like Him and showing His love to the world, it still isn’t our place to judge or condemn.
Think about the people in your life. Is there someone who is going through a struggle, or may have a problem in their life, or a sin? Or someone in your life who feels alone? Find a way to get a hold of them today; send them a message or a text, or even a quick phone call. Pray with them. Read Scripture with them. Offer what little advice you can. Tell them what Jesus says about whatever issue they’re dealing with. Sometimes, just be a listening ear. The best gift you can offer someone is your time.
Or, maybe you’re someone who feels alone, or someone with the addiction, the sin, or the struggle. Maybe people in your life have walked out on you time and time again and you’re left with Satan’s lies that tell you that you aren’t worth anything; that you’re not even worth someone’s time or energy.
I am here to tell you right now, brother or sister in Christ: you ARE loved. You ARE valuable. God formed you in your mother’s womb and even before the creation of the world, He knew your name. He numbers the hairs of your head, and if He takes care of the birds and the lilies, how much more will He take care of you? He takes delight over you and rejoices over you with singing and will lead you beside still waters to find rest for you soul. He will take your burdens, and His burden is light. He loves you so much He sent His Son to die and rise again, and nothing on earth or in heaven can ever separate you from His love. When Jesus stood there, condemned next to Pilate, He could have called down legions of angels to free Himself. But He didn’t.
There was a filthy cold-blooded murderer standing right next to Him, named Barabbas. Yet, the crowd chose Barabbas. And the worst part of it is that Barabbas never even looked back at Jesus. He didn’t tell Jesus “Thank You, for freeing me.” No, he simply walked on without a second thought.
Jesus, who was an innocent and perfect Man, just stood there and allowed Himself to be tortured and condemned to death, while He let a murderer go free.
Friends, we are Barabbas. That’s what He did for us. He paid the debt for a crime that we owed. Now that we are free, shouldn’t we help our brothers and sisters in Christ who are going through hardships?
1 Corinthians chapter twelve talks about how we as Believers are the Body of Christ. Some of us may be a hand or foot or the nose, but we are all important. If one part of the Body isn’t there, the entire Body stops working properly. The Bible says that if the Body was all one part—like an ear—then, where would the smelling be?
God made you unique and He made you the person He called you to be. Your strengths and even your weaknesses and flaws are all here to bring God glory and to further His Kingdom. You have a vital role to play as part of the Body of Christ and the Body needs you.
We are to care for each other. If the hand says to the foot, I don’t need you, then the Body won’t function properly as it should. When one part of the Body hurts, it all hurts. Friends, that’s why we should be there for each other, to take care of each other, in the same way that God takes care of us.
Who do you need to help today? Who do you need to be there for? You can make a difference in someone’s life and I promise you, it will be well worth it when you do.
When you show Christ’s love to others.
