A church is made up of imperfect people, like you and me. It doesn’t matter what position you hold or role you play in your church body or how long you’ve been walking with the Lord, none of us achieve perfection this side of the Pearly Gates. When a brother or sister in Christ fall, it can be tempting to ostracize them, ridicule them, or banish them from our lives. After all, we don’t want to go hang around sinners now do we? The problem is, we’re all sinners. Being saved and becoming a Christian neither immunizes nor incubates us from sin. Such is not the nature of the world we inhabit.
As a Christian, I’ve made a conscious effort to walk a different road than the one I ventured down before I encountered Christ. Having a relationship with Christ makes me think about sin and view my shortcomings differently than before I knew Christ on a personal level. Yet, daily, I find myself dependent on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct my way. I don’t want anything to come between me and God. That doesn’t mean that nothing will be vying for my attention. To the contrary, it seems like the opportunities to mess up and fall amp up dramatically the more pronounced in my faith I become.
There’s a reason that the Apostle Paul urges us to put on the full armor of God every day. He understood better than most that ours is a daily battle to pursue the righteousness of God versus succumbing to the vices and devices of the Enemy. There’s a reason Scripture instructs us to be careful about assessing judgment on the words and deeds of others. It’s no accident that the Word emphasizes us to treat others like we would want to be treated.
Ephesians 6:10-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
When a brother or sister in Christ falls, they need our love, not our condemnation. Who can they rely on to love on them in the hour of their greatest need if not us? This is what it means to be family. We love one another because God first loved us while we were yet sinners. God demonstrated that love through the atoning sacrificial offering of His precious Son, Jesus Christ and He continues to show that love through the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in us.
As a friend of mine once encouraged me: If you find a perfect church, don’t start attending. You’ll just mess it up.
In the meantime, cast no stones.
Peace be with you.
Blessings,
The Devotional Guy™
The Devotional Guy™ 
Jesus, standing before the crowd, said, “Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone”. All of a sudden a rock comes sailing out from the back of the crowd and strikes Jesus square in the forehead. Bleeding, Jesus has an incredulous look on His face. It’s then the crowd parts and there stands Mary, holding a second stone.
Jesus says, “C’mon, mom. I was trying to make a point, here.”
One of my favorite jokes of all time.
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What’s interesting to me about that famous passage is that a lot of scholarly debate surrounds it. A lot of bible scholars doubt it was part of the original manuscripts and added later.
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I had no idea! One more thing I have to ask about when I’m fertilizer. I’ve always loved that story (the real one, not the joke).
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