Here, There and Beyond

One of the difficult things that we experience in the Christian walk is when an unbeliever, or even a seeker is put off by the behavior of a believer. Sometimes we do things that offend or wound people that we could and should be reaching. It’s particularly painful when we know we’ve done wrong. We’ve hurt our witness and perhaps kept a seeker away from the Kingdom by our actions. This is also detrimental when we’re dealing with Christians and we mess up. We can always repent and get the Lord’s forgiveness. Often, we can get forgiveness from the other party, but this can be hard and sometimes we fail and damage has been done.
It’s always painful when this happens, but we also have to remember that we’re still on the way to who we’re becoming. Some of us were a real mess when He found us. He saved us, then we began the process of becoming like Him. So, we had a beginning point, when we came to Him. Our completion point will come when we finally see Him and become like Him because we see Him as He really is, 1 Jn. 3:2. In the middle, though, is the place where we find ourselves right now. We’re not the mess we once were, but we’re not yet fully sanctified, fully like Him yet. We’re not perfect yet. So, like it or not, things are going to happen.
There’s a bumper sticker that expresses this a little. ‘God’s Not finished with me yet’. I used to hate that bumper sticker. It sounded like an excuse for bad behavior. It still feels uncomfortable. However, there’s an element of truth in the message. As long as you’re in this flesh there’s always a danger of messing up, of sinning, and wounding someone who sees our sin. We can mitigate this, though, when it happens, by earnestly seeking Him, seeking to see Him in the Scriptures and in the Spirit, endeavoring to become like Him. The more like Him we become, the less likely we are to mess up and hurt another.
This is important, because the world has a perception that they’re checking the validity of God and His Kingdom by watching our works, and there’s validity to the ‘test’. Related to this is where Jesus said, ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another’, Jn. 13:35. In this case our love for one another is a witness. In the previous case our behavior is a witness. However, the fact will always remain that we began a mess. We’re on our way to becoming like Him, but we’re on the road ‘stuck’ in the slow process.
So, what can we do? We want to be the best person that we can be. We want to be a good witness for Him. So, first, be the best person that you can be. When and if you do fail, be transparent and humble. Don’t bluster and try to cover it up. Apologize. Be quick to admit your wrongdoing and say you’re sorry. Make amends if it is appropriate. Ask for the Lord’s forgiveness. Forgive yourself as well. Too often we punish ourselves when He already paid the price for our sins. Then, get up, keep growing and go on living.
We can’t always live a perfect life. We will make mistakes and occasionally sin. When you do, follow those simple guidelines to get back on track quickly. Remember, after all, you’re a long way from where you began, but you’re not yet where you some day will be – like Christ Himself.