Let’s Not Forget

Some of us suffer from spiritual amnesia. We’ve been so accustomed to living in the faith that we’ve forgotten how far we’ve come. Mature Christians have to not judge harshly those who are still learning to walk with Jesus. While Jesus saves people immediately from their sins, as baby Christians, they don’t always immediately live a spiritual life. Many of their choices made in their sinful past may have lingering consequences that need more time for complete deliverance.

Many of us mature Christians also needed more time for deliverance in order to think and behave differently. We didn’t always pray like we do now. We didn’t always have the scriptural memory that we have now. We didn’t always choose righteousness first when we were tempted. Yet God was patient with us and allowed the right amount of time, people, and circumstances to mold us into spiritual maturity.

Our response to believers who fail should be first and foremost the love of Christ. If people really understood the futility of following the desires of their sinful nature, they would always choose the spiritual first. We can be a safe place for them to grow in the knowledge of Christ when we are gentle, but loving in our approach when they fail.

We also give them grace to grow in the faith. Our expectations are that they grow little by little in the faith until they can reach a strong place of maturity. We remind them that God gives them the strength to move forward if they are willing to rely on Him instead of themselves. Our relentless patience in showing them truth from God’s word will be the foundation of their faith.

As mature believers, we also encourage them with our testimony. We don’t have to rehash all the ugliness of our past; rather, we share how God helped when we were weak in the flesh. Our experiences of victories and failures reveal God’s ability to change us from the inside out. They will be encouraged to press forward in the faith because we are an example of being changed from darkness to light.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I want to be a good example of Your love and grace to those believers who are struggling. Help me to be a wise counselor to those You send my way. Amen.

In His Service,

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