Today: 2 John – Jude
Today I put together something I’d never put together before. I’m attending a conference where my company is a sponsor with a booth…a booth with a large display I had never set up before. At first it was a HUGE overwhelming struggle. One of the boxes I needed was locked…and I didn’t have a key (luckily I realized it would open with the flathead screwdriver in another box!). There were about 12 metal plates that seemed to have no purpose whatsoever. It was like a giant Erector set gone wrong (and I never even played with those!).
Luckily, after struggling for 15 minutes or so, I found a piece of paper that saved the day…the directions. :) Once I had them, putting the display together was pretty simple.
The Bible has a lot of instructions (as we’ve already seen) and today’s passage is no exception. The section that stood out to me today included directions for dealing with sin, people who haven’t yet accepted Christ and people who have turned away from God. Take a look:
Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith.
Go after those who take the wrong way.
Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin.
These seem like relatively simple instructions. But I think the hardest to wrap my mind around is the idea of being tender with sinners, but not soft on sin—it’s not exactly easy to practice.
I may not be a master at it, but I think this is one direction that works. Let people know how much you care about them…really. Take an interest in them as people. Be there for them as a friend. When sin issues come up, let them know what you think and why in a kind, unpreachy way. And continue to care about them, even when you learn about sin issues in their lives. We all have sin issues—but accepting the love and forgiveness of Christ is probably the best direction we could ever follow.
Tomorrow: Revelation 1-3
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