Caught in Sin

Recently Gavin and I have been having talks about not hitting girls. I always feel it is best to deal with sin as it arises. This means that sometimes it seems too early to talk about a subject, but if not now, then when? Abby and Gavin have gotten into some recent battles. Abby is strong willed, and often the instigator. She can be quick to push Gavin’s buttons, and then turn around and try to get him in trouble. Gavin is gentle-spirited, but if you catch him like this he unleashes his furry, and Abby faces his punishment. That is how he got his nickname as a baby – “Gav attack.” A few times I have been able to catch him in sin, and then we have a Galatians 6 moment (our text for this week). I try to gently guide him to understand the challenges that go along with this. I also told him that when he is older, if he hits a girl, he could go to jail. Sometimes it is more than I bargain for because it unleashes the machine gun of questions afterwards. But being a sports follower, I see how many of these guys have been caught in domestic violence this year, and I want to make sure my boys never go down that path. I remember ways that my mom did this as a kid and it stuck in my head. There were many ways she strongly told me to avoid something and it stood out in my mind.

There was a girl in college who also pointed something out to me that stuck. Boldly she said to me one day, “Didn’t your dad ever teach how to be gentle?” Wow. This got me thinking and analyzing my actions to see my gentleness, or lack thereof. I am a pretty passionate guy and so many areas of my life were affected by my lack of understanding gentleness. So, I pursued gentleness. I watched how people were gentle. This has been important as a husband, father, and of course, a pastor. One needs to be gentle when confronting people caught in sin. I remember being harsh on people in sin in high school and God changed my heart in college. I know only the Holy Spirit could guide me to understand gentleness.

This week we celebrate the independence of our country. What an amazing gift our country has to celebrate! What freedoms we have! Of course, the problem is that most people didn’t have the lesson on freedom we had last weekend in church, how we still need law to help guide the areas where we are battling our selfish desires, and that our freedom is founded in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I think our freedom in our country has led us down a path of being caught in sin, and yet our country doesn’t see the church as a place that is gentle. Rather they see us as quite the opposite – harsh and condemning. That makes it all the more challenging to gently guide people who are caught in sin. It starts, of course, with the cross, and the reminder we need it just as much as the next person. Then it takes patience and intentional relationships to be able to talk to others about God’s calling for the lives of people.

In a country that has embraced its freedom so tightly that we abuse it, being gentle means caring for those around us. It is often a long process. It means many conversations, as those who have bought into freedom so much that the truth of Jesus is just hard to understand.  We take time, as we celebrate our freedoms this Fourth of July, to pray for the conversations to help others hear how God would call us to use that freedom.