We live in a culture that teaches us to hide our weaknesses and failures. We are told not to interfere with people’s lives, and they should not interfere with our lives. Children express the sentiment well when they say, “It is none of your business.” It breaks my heart to see how many Christians have allowed this idea and cultural response to disrupt Christian relationships. It is an absolute contradiction to the example set forth in God’s inspired Word.
Ten years ago, my family faced a life altering experience. We had made poor choices that led to other poor choices. Without realizing it at the time, sin was at the heart of the whole matter. As our actions bore forth their consequences, we truly regretted what we had allowed our lives to become. By God’s amazing providence, we had recently started attending services with a congregation who understood love and bearing with one another. This congregation took us from two broken Christians who had fallen away while sitting in the pews for years to where we are today, in ministry.
Without the love, support and forgiveness of this congregation, we would not be here today. The eldership, ministers, deacons and members came to us with open arms, asking us how they could help put our broken family back together. Piece by piece, they used God’s love and His Word to change us. We have no doubt that our lives would not be the same without this group of individuals. In fact, we know of many congregations that would have turned their backs on us. We very likely would have left the church without the support we received.
Repeatedly, I see people who encounter tragedies who have no understanding of the church family. They believe they must hide all their struggles and sins instead of turning to the church for the love and the support that God intended.
Galatians 6:1-2 tells us that when our brothers fall into transgressions, we must go to them and help them return from that life of sin. We see in Romans 12:13 that we are to contribute to the needs of the saints, and from Romans 12:15, we learn that we are to rejoice and weep with those who are doing such. These are not suggestions but are commandments from God. We are to love and to support each other through both the good and the bad times. If we choose not to provide that love, we are failing to meet the law God set forth. However, there is another side to this coin. If Christians refuse to share their needs by choosing to live lives of privacy, they are preventing others from fulfilling the law. They have become a stumbling block to their brothers.
Christians, we need to understand that no one is immune from sin and tragedy. God knew this, and He knew living faithfully to Him would be a struggle at times in our lives. Yet, God is so good, and He never leaves us unprepared. He gave us the church to love, support, guide and correct each other. It’s time we put our culture, personal beliefs and fears aside. We need to fulfill the law that God gave us.