The need for church to be a safe place (II) Denial, repentance and healing

As I said last day, we cannot expect people to come out of denial, if it's not safe. Clearly some churches are safer than others, but surly we need to examine ourselves concerning these things (1 Corinthians 11:28). And where we fall short we need to repent. In order to facilitate this, I want to mention three areas where we need to examine ourselves. Firstly concerning the way of love, we need to “believe all things, hope all things and endure all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). In particular, we need to believe in others even when they don’t believe in themselves. And if and when they fall, we can hope, and if they fall so often we loose hope, we can still love them as we endure.

Secondly Church will not be a safe place while we are still hiding behind masks. In such an atmosphere we will either be covered in shame fearing that someone might find out what we are like and so reject us, or we will likely self righteously condemn those who don’t sin the same way we do.  Oh how we love to look down on others, but it's sinful and we need to repent. We need to learn again that mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13), and to see that compared to our standard Jesus, there is not one of us who is in in any position to judge anyone. If the verse “with the measure that you judge , you will be judged” (Matthew 7:2) does not scare the living daylights out of you, it should!

Thirdly, notwithstanding what I just said, we need to stop conforming to the world in its soft peddling of sin. I am not talking about not showing mercy, nor about not granting unconditional acceptance of the person. But if something is wrong , it will have negative consequences (Galatians 6:7; Genesis 3:17 NKJV see January 25), and if we stay in denial blaming others for our pain, are we likely to change? Paul admonishes us to warn “everyone and teach everyone in all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28). I like what Kris Volloton says about the prodigal father's example “he didn’t accept his son's sinful lifestyle to woo the boy homeward. And his son respected his father’s nobility and understood that he couldn’t bring his immoral lifestyle to the father’s farm.” We need to ask ourselves “Is it love to affirm someone in their sin?” Sin is always destructive and surly to affirm them in it, is to enable destruction! To sum up, we need to ask the Lord where we may be in denial,   and then to walk  in  love and humility and  in an attitude of repentance. And we need to lovingly and humbly teach about these things (Galatians 6:1).

Father, I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have see the King, the Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 6:5). Lord though I see the weakness of Your church,  especially in the West, I also see weakness in me.  We have such an opportunity Father to reach this wicked and hurting world, but we need to come out of our denial that everything is okay with us.  Show us where we are part of the problem, and grant us repentance.  Forgive us Lord and equip us  in this way to be in process of being changed into Your glorious likeness in Jesus Name Amen