Have you ever sat back and thought about the lost family members or friends? Not the ones you only see once a year and you are civil too because it's the right thing to do, but the ones who know you. They knew you before you knew God. They know the ugly, the awful, the despicable you and all the mess you lived in once. Yeah, those.
It's a really tough spot to be in. I know for me, I never could break through to some people. It wasn't because I didn't care about them or that we fought about it. I never could fight the way my past was thrown at me. Lord knows I'm not perfect. If you know me well, you know I am not perfect, too. That's okay with me.
If I was perfect, I wouldn't have a powerful story of redemption through Christ.
Anyways, our family and friends know us. It is hard to minister to them because we've gone too deep in a sense. It's sort of like swimming. You getting your feet wet is like just kind of knowing someone. You may say hello to them, know their name, maybe shared a joke in a large crowd. Nothing major.
Going knee deep you may have a conversation with them. You may discuss the ball game or the weather but there is no real gravity to it.
Going waist deep it starts coming along. You may have dinner together. You may intentionally make plans to hang out. You may have deeper conversations.
Then we get neck deep. We know these people. We know how they react. We know what sets them off. We know when they are doing good and not doing good.
Finally, we are in over our heads. We are so deep there isn't any going back. You are soaking wet in the water and nothing can change that. You know every single thing there is to know about the person. You've seen what few else will ever see. That's about how family and lifelong friends are in relationships most of the time.
They know where you have been. They see you as that person because no one really remembers all the good things you have done. They only seem to remember the screw ups. That is all part of human nature.
I took Megan to see "The Vow" and as cheesy as it sounds, I think one scene sums up how we should treat the ones we love. The man had cheated on his wife and the daughter asked how she couldn't leave him. Her response was that how could she not forgive him for the one stupid mistake he made after the lifetime of good he had done for her.
Now I'm not condoning an affair. Let's not get carried away. But it's about forgiveness. Christ forgave us, and we must forgive others. It's hard though when we have seen what they have been through and done in the past.
It is hard. Sometimes the best thing we can do is live as an example. We must commit those we love to prayer daily. The best two things we can do are be an example by loving and pray.
Galatians 6:9 says this: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, IF we do not give up".
Pastor Scott said last night, and it is true, that God gives us promises but they always have a large two letter phrase of "IF" attached. Here we are promised that we will reap in due season by doing good if we do not give up.
Don't give up friends. We can't give up on the ones we love. No matter how bad our past makes us to people, Christ's love redeems us and gives us a future.
Love people.
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