3. ON THE LONELY ROAD BACK TO RESTORATION

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The Bible seems full of scriptures that suggest that when a child of God has fallen into some kind of sin, that that child, once he or she has repented and seen the error of his or her way, will be supported in love by the body of Christ, the objective being, not to condone the sin but to see to it, that that child is restored.

For example, Galatians 6:1-2, in speaking about the law of Christ which is love and what Christians should do when their fellow brother or sister sins, states:

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”

Yet, although this is a command from God, in reality, when a brother or sister sins in some major way, he or she is often abandoned by many in the Church, even where he or she is seeking to navigate his or her way back into fellowship with Christ. Even after such persons have repented and poured out their hearts to the Lord, much like Peter did after he had denied the Lord thrice, Jesus receives them back into the fold but people, Christian people, often times do not and give them a hard time.

This can make the road back to restoration more difficult, especially when dealing with addictions or other sin consequences that have trailed after you, even after you have repented to the Lord and forsaken the sin. Sin fruits, for example, filthy thoughts, fear, guilt, shame and extreme self-consciousness, sometimes follow and you find yourself in dire need of deliverance from these as well.

On the lonely road back to complete restoration after a fall, even after you have repented of your sin, you will find on the way, certain types of people in the Church (some genuine Christians and others just professers).

Even after you have repented, you will find the SCORNFUL. These are those who look down at you with contempt, scornfully avoiding you like the plague, even ensuring that they refrain from speaking to you or shaking your hand, afraid that they will catch whatever it is that you had or still have.

Even after you have repented, you will find the MOCKERS. These are those who will mock and jeer at you, for your fall is entertainment to them. You have given them a hot topic to ventilate upon and they run up and down spreading your situation to others and laughing about it, not caring in the least, how much damage this may cause.

Even after you have repented, you will find the SATISFIED. These are those that have wanted to take you down a peg or two for years, due to secret jealousy or envy or some thing you may have done to them for which they have never forgiven you and now they finally have the opportunity and ammunition to do so. Such persons bask in your failure and rejoice in your fall, for it makes them feel better about themselves. At least, they did not sin as much as you did and finally, they got what they needed to settle that score!

Even after you have repented, you will find the CONDEMNERS. These people are critical, give not an ounce of encouragement and paint you with a brush of condemnation. They show you no mercy because they think you don’t deserve it and they are visibly disgusted every time they see you. They even show it and let you know in no uncertain terms that you are inexcusable. Every time you meet them, they frown and in their minds, you are a perpetual write-off. God can never use you ever again, they think and they feel (because they are self-righteous) that they have earned the right to badmouth you left, right and centre, under the guise of ‘piousness’. That is it for your life, they think. Grace cannot reach you now. They resign you to a life of nothing but failure and consider you to have nothing but a dark, dismal and doomed future. Serves you right for sinning, they figure.

Even after you have repented, you will also find the INDIFFERENT. These people are too preoccupied with their own issues, their families, their jobs and the general cares of this life, to stop to take the time to realize that you are hurting, bleeding inside and need a helping hand, a prayer or some word of encouragement, not to give up the fight.

YET, as lonely and as difficult as the road back to complete restoration gets, it is a journey that I believe that Jesus will help you with, once you have genuinely confessed your sin to him and repented of it. His Word states that he is faithful, not just to forgive your sins when you confess them but to cleanse you as well from all unrighteousness.

See, unlike people:

Jesus passes through areas that no man passes through…And oh…those who are possessed with the WORST DEVILS are DELIVERED! (Matthew 8:28)

Jesus touches those that no man dare touch…And oh… those who have the WORST UNCLEAN DISEASES are HEALED! (Matthew 8:2-3)

Jesus speaks to societal outcasts that are considered not speak-worthy…And oh…those who are thought to be the WORST SINNERS are SAVED! (John 4:27)

Jesus remembers those that have been forgotten…And oh…those who are labelled the WORST REJECTS are LOVED! (Isaiah 62:4)

Jesus graces wayward Daughters who have repented with forgiveness…And oh… those who were ONCE FALLEN are RESTORED! (John 8:1-11)

For, in Luke 5:31-32, JESUS stated: “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

(Written on 7th April, 2019)