Sunday was another big day in the Christian world of unfortunate events. A pastor in Canton stepped down from his chuch because he had an physical/emotional affair with his assistant. I encourage you to read the statement directly from Pastor Gary Lamb on his blog here.
I bring it up for a very specific reason. I do not want to talk about the moral issues, the issues of him stepping down, the sadness caused his family, right and wrong. Those are all issues that we may or may not ever come to agree on, and that is fine. However, I want to bring to light something that ALL of us as Christians are called too and I think Gary did an excellent job of doing.
God makes it very clear in his Word, that we are to confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and begin a path to restoration. Gary did that. He could have very easily tried to hide it or sweep it under the rug, as if it never happened. He could have easily justified to protect the "church" and his family. He didn't. When he sinned, he confessed it.
Does that mean he is exempt from consequences? Of course not. Does that mean it will hurt less? No. Yet he probably realized that the consequences of not admitting his sin were far worse for the church and his family, then to admit it now and work through it.
Yes, what he did was wrong. Yes, there may have been ways to prevent it from happening. The fact is, it happened. Now what?
Let me ask you this. Would you have been able to come clean? Could you admit to your wife and children and 1200 people in your church that you sinned? How about the sin in your life today? Have you confessed it? Could it have been avoided?
I think Perry Noble's response is best. When incidents like this occur, we need to look in the mirror and check ourselves. Do we have unconfessed sin? Are we in a position that leaves us vulnerable to sin?
Join me in praying for Gary, his family, his church and the church in America that God would restore them and use this for God's glory and not as a tool for the enemy.
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