I work as a counselor. Sometimes in my line of work, I have a client who struggles with self-injury. The issue of self-injury is an indicator to me that something deeper is going on with the client. Something is not right. It is not normative for a person to want to inflict harm on themselves. The objective person outside the situation thinks, “Why would you want to hurt yourself? What do you stand to gain?”
I’ve been thinking a lot about how this issue of self-injury parallels with the church. All too often, people within the church see one another as the enemy. Another Christian hurts them and they retaliate. Hurting people hurt people. Conflicts are not typically resolved in an honest, mature, and biblical manner, but rather through gossip, malicious intent, and segregation. People within the church become more consumed with being right or “winning” rather than genuine reconciliation.
Here’s the thing: the church is the body of Christ. So, if I am intentionally inflicting harm on another believer, aren’t I just really inflicting self-harm? Aren’t I just like that client who struggles with self-injury? Why would I want to hurt myself?
Lucretia Noble once made a brilliant statement regarding fighting in marriage, “Nobody wins a fight when fighting with your spouse. You both lose.” I think this same idea applies to the church. Nobody wins when we fight amongst ourselves.
Here’s another way to approach the whole idea: the church is repeatedly referred to in Scripture as the bride of Christ. We can’t claim to truly and deeply love Jesus, while at the same time reject His bride. It’s the same principle that keeps you from being best friends with someone who dislikes your spouse. You love your spouse. You are not going to want to be around others who only see the negative in them.
The church and other Christians are not your enemy!
So, who is? Let’s go back to Ephesians 6 again:
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Flesh and blood is not our enemy. Our enemy is Satan. He wants us to believe that we are each other’s enemies. We are just playing into his hands and harming ourselves and the mission of God when we act on this belief.
Scripture is clear that the enemy wants to devour us (2 Tim 2:24-26, Eph 4:26-27). We must stand united and firm against this enemy. We must be devoted to praying for ourselves and others to not allow the enemy to get a foothold and use us for his evil intents. We are on the same team!
I don’t know about you, but as a believer in Jesus, I am so thankful for His grace and mercy! I love Romans 8 which reminds me that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The moments I screw up I don’t have to get down on myself. I am not condemned. Those sins are on Jesus. I simply turn to Him, ask forgiveness, and for the Holy Spirit to further grow and sanctify me.
This whole idea actually comes from the Old Testament. In Leviticus 16:20-22 we see this:
“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”
This is where we get the term scapegoat. God tells Moses and Aaron to confess the sins over the goat and send it off away from the people. New Testament believers realize that Jesus has become the final scapegoat. Our sins are placed on His shoulders at the cross and therefore sent away from us. We are no longer condemned – thank You, Jesus!
Ready to have your mind blown? If it is true that I am no longer condemned because my sins are on Christ Jesus, then isn’t it also true that my brothers and sisters in Christ are also no longer condemned? The Christian who has deeply wounded me has his or her sins on Jesus’ shoulders the same as I do. The same grace and mercy I am so thankful to experience is extended to the Christian who sins against me.
It is not my job to condemn.
God does not condemn… that is part of what Jesus has done for us.
You know who does condemn? Satan! He’s the only one who continually brings up your past failures and mistakes. That does not come from God. A Christian who is moping about his or her past is not walking in the freedom of the cross.
How do we unite to fight against this enemy when we’ve been hurt by our fellow Christian? We pray for the Holy Spirit to convict us of ways that we each may be allowing Satan to gain a foothold in our lives. We pray for God to protect us from the arrows Satan is throwing at us. We remember the importance of the armor of God (Eph 6).
What this has looked like for me lately is to pray specifically that God would bring sins committed against myself and my family to the mind of those who sinned against us and that He would develop a strong desire for repentance within that individual. I further pray that this will plant the seed for reconciliation to occur in some of these relationships. I do not pray this so my fellow Christian feels the weight of condemnation, but rather the freedom and rewards of sanctification.
I also pray that God would convict me if I am letting Satan gain ground in my own heart and seek forgiveness. I may specifically mention the sins committed against me and then thank God that those sins are on Jesus allowing my fellow Christian to be free just as I am free! The biggest winner when reconciliation occurs between Christians is Jesus! Jesus is going to win in the end anyway, but I want to be a part of gaining ground while the war is raging on.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Amber, Have you ever thought of trying to publish your photos/blog comments in a diary type book -- You have a wonderful gift for writing! Love you.
Posted by: Sharon Herron | April 03, 2012 at 10:41 AM