A marriage, a family, people, a ministry all decimated by sin, by the actions of people, real people. I can't imagine the depth of pain, betrayal and loss his wife is experiencing. That she chose to forgive and try to work through this has got to be one of the single greatest examples of love, forgiveness and grace I have ever seen.
I called a friend of mine who I have known a long time and we have been through a lot, seen a lot and worked through a lot. We talked at least an hour. Sometimes it's not about pointing out the sin because that is obvious. Sometimes it's just about connecting in Christ.
Passion, like all emotions can be a two-edged sword. Unfortunately many people do not realize that a person who has a passion to serve Christ, see people come to know him as Savior and Lord, and then shepherd them to growth in Christ, is a passionate person. I think lust is uncontrolled and unconcerned passion. Pastor's can be easy prey for the enemy because they are passionate people. Some people might think that pastors, priests and preachers are almost immune to passionate desires and lust. No, they are human and just like everyone else. Here's a question or two: Who do you talk to when you are dealing with passion, temptation? Who can your pastor talk to?
I hope to be able to help in some way. I think my relationship with him was just a bit beyond acquaintance because we were only able to talk a few times. But, if I can I will walk along side to help. In the battle for our faith, it is a loss. The enemy won a battle. Not the war, a battle. The war still rages. We fight on in faith, battling with mercy, grace and forgiveness.
Father, may your grace abound. Praise be to you in us today.
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