I was just reading about a program in the state of Ohio where people who surrender to the authorities for outstanding warrants for misdemeanors were guaranteed leniency - that is, that in most cases (unless the crime involved violence) the people would not go to jail and not even have a criminal record - their case would be processed and dismissed. It's an interesting article. You can read it HERE.
One of the things about the story grabbed my attention. It was that people started lining up outside the courtroom where these crimes were to be granted leniency TWO HOURS in advance. People were lining up, in essence admitting their guilt ... to be forgiven.
I've also been reading some blog posts about famous people in the news who for one reason or other are notorious. Casey Anthony. Mike Tyson. The question these bloggers have posed is whether these folks deserve a second chance - whether their readers would give them one. Everyone seems to think that it would be hard but yes, they would give these people a second chance. Everyone deserves one, or so the saying goes.
Which is fine and well, because these are people you and I probably would never meet anyway.
But what if it's someone you know, someone you used to trust? What if it's something that touched your life personally, deeply? What if it was something you couldn't escape with distance, with anonymity, with religious platitudes because that person was "in your face" every day? How would it be then?
And I'll get a little closer to home for my fellow-Christians, because we are really good at expecting less of non-believers than we expect of ourselves.
What if ... what if it was a fellow church member? your Sunday School teacher? a pastor? a worship leader? the person you see every Sunday in the next pew? What if you found out that there was a moral failure, an addiction? What if that person stood at the front of the church on a Sunday morning and admitted it publicly, and not only admitted it, but said that they were having a difficult time giving it (whatever "it" is) up? What would happen then?
You see, this is the other half of grace. This is the part where we find out if all those messages about forgiveness and love really make a difference. I know people in the Christian community who have been brave enough to risk being ostracized just to stop playing church and be "real" - the response from the next pew has been anything from leaving the church in disgust or at least shunning the person socially ... to forgiving and embracing the one who is struggling, loving the person through the process of restoration.
Believers are just as much in need of grace and forgiveness as those who are not. I'm not exactly sure where we got the idea that we're supposed to be 'better' than everyone else.
If I were a betting person, I would wager that if people who attend church could be guaranteed that their fellow church members would say, "Case Dismissed" if they were to be open and honest about their inner lives and struggles - there would probably be a whole lot more people willing to talk about them.
In fact, they might even line up.
One of the things about the story grabbed my attention. It was that people started lining up outside the courtroom where these crimes were to be granted leniency TWO HOURS in advance. People were lining up, in essence admitting their guilt ... to be forgiven.
I've also been reading some blog posts about famous people in the news who for one reason or other are notorious. Casey Anthony. Mike Tyson. The question these bloggers have posed is whether these folks deserve a second chance - whether their readers would give them one. Everyone seems to think that it would be hard but yes, they would give these people a second chance. Everyone deserves one, or so the saying goes.
Which is fine and well, because these are people you and I probably would never meet anyway.
But what if it's someone you know, someone you used to trust? What if it's something that touched your life personally, deeply? What if it was something you couldn't escape with distance, with anonymity, with religious platitudes because that person was "in your face" every day? How would it be then?
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| Source of this photo: http://fallenpastor.wordpress.com/ 2011/03/01/why-churches-arent-growing- transparency-and-the-fallen-church/ |
What if ... what if it was a fellow church member? your Sunday School teacher? a pastor? a worship leader? the person you see every Sunday in the next pew? What if you found out that there was a moral failure, an addiction? What if that person stood at the front of the church on a Sunday morning and admitted it publicly, and not only admitted it, but said that they were having a difficult time giving it (whatever "it" is) up? What would happen then?
You see, this is the other half of grace. This is the part where we find out if all those messages about forgiveness and love really make a difference. I know people in the Christian community who have been brave enough to risk being ostracized just to stop playing church and be "real" - the response from the next pew has been anything from leaving the church in disgust or at least shunning the person socially ... to forgiving and embracing the one who is struggling, loving the person through the process of restoration.
Believers are just as much in need of grace and forgiveness as those who are not. I'm not exactly sure where we got the idea that we're supposed to be 'better' than everyone else.
If I were a betting person, I would wager that if people who attend church could be guaranteed that their fellow church members would say, "Case Dismissed" if they were to be open and honest about their inner lives and struggles - there would probably be a whole lot more people willing to talk about them.
In fact, they might even line up.
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