Patching Cracks
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In Paul’s two letters to the church in Corinth, there is a scandalous event that is addressed. 1 Corinthians is basically a letter that addresses a laundry list of questions from the church, probably asked in a letter he had received from the church. One question concerns a man who had become romantically involved with his father’s wife, his own step-mother. The church had already talked to the guy about his behavior and he was uninterested in changing. Paul’s direction for the church is pretty straightforward: show the guy the door. Don’t tolerate that kind of behavior in your community. Uninvite him from participating in the church family until he corrects his behavior. The reason for this is simple: the church is a community of folks who are following Jesus and trying to live out his teachings. Dating your dad’s wife is at odds with the moral principles of the church. Paul doesn’t instruct the church to mistreat the fellow, just to treat him as an unbeliever. This is not about mistreatment. We find instructions throughout the New Testament that believers are to love their neighbors, both Christian and non-Christian. However, this is not permission to ignore bad behavior. The Bible’s instructions regarding dealing with brothers/sisters who are in sin is to encourage them to get their act together. All of the instructions are specifically focused on making it as easy as possible for them to catch hold of themselves. Reconciliation is the goal, not judgement or evicting the wicked person. Interestingly enough, in the next letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he instructs the church to treat the guy in a loving, grace-filled manner. They were not supposed to kick him out forever or never talk to him again. Rather, they were to reconcile and reunite. Paul’s instructions are to love him as they love themselves and to reconcile with him. This can be a difficult thing to do at times. When believers separate and go their separate ways, it is seldom peaceful and churches tend to feature some intimate, long running. and personally risky relationships. The wounds that result can take years to heal. In the end, grace is the key to healing in these instances. Paul repeatedly instructs the churches to deal with each other in grace and patience. Grace is forgiveness that cannot be earned and is not deserved. It is a gift from God. In the same manner, we offer grace to each other and love each other. Followers of Jesus are in the ongoing effort of growing to be like Him. This means forgiving and loving, particularly when the wrongs against us are harder to let go of. We see this in Jesus’ response to Peter, after Peter denies knowing Jesus repeatedly. He even went so far as to cursing at a young girl who approached him, saying that she had seen him with Jesus. Jesus’ response was to reinstate him after the resurrection. That is a love worth emulating. It is what makes church families capable of overcoming all manner of difficulty we might face. It is also what makes fellowship particularly great. It is part of how we encounter Jesus on this side of heaven. We meet him in His followers who are growing to be like Him.
