Thursday, April 08, 2010

Living out the Message of Easter

Dear Fallen Leader,

You, of all people, should rejoice in the message of Easter.  It is a message of hope and renewal.  He died to take away your sin and make forgiveness and new life available for you.  It won't be easy.  Even with forgiveness there are still consequences to sin.  Your life will never again be the same.  You have lost things that you can never get back but He can still work through you as you humble yourself and allow Him to do the work.  You cannot do it yourself.  You must lean on Him and learn from Him.  He was wounded and said not a word in His own defense, instead He prayed for others. There are so many others that are hurting because of your fall.  They need your prayers. He took the punishment and allowed the work to be finished, so that God could be glorified in the end.  May you do the same.

I am praying for you, and for your family and all those affected by your fall.

With love,
A fellow sinner




Dear Disappointed and Hurting Comrade,
 
How hard it is to watch your leader fall!  How easy it is to question everything and lose your focus.  You have discovered that one of your leaders is human and prone to err. Don't let that knock you off the course. Look to the cross. God is still God and truth is still truth. The message of the cross is still one of forgiveness and new life and victory over sin, even for your fallen leader.  Will you follow God's example of forgiveness or will you join the masses that will kick him while he's down? Now is your chance to live out the message of mercy and grace.  No, that doesn't mean that you sweep it all under the rug, but it does mean that you leave it all at the cross.  Let God handle it.  Pray for your fallen leader.  He will need it.  Pray for his family.  They will need it.  None of us are perfect.  We all make mistakes and we all need forgiveness.  Thank God that He offers that forgiveness to us all.  May we all do our part to forgive and support one another.

With love,
A fellow disappointed and hurting comrade

Post inspired by the April 8th theme, Happy Easter, for Letters That I'll Never Send.