She too has been following the hurtful back and forth about the D&P issues and the Kennedy funeral (When will that guy be dead and buried?). As well, she has read what Archbishop Burke has had to say, and has spoke from her own heart. The conclusion to her essay is so poignant to me and maybe to us all:
We just all be careful we don't take it upon ourselves to do the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. We can get in the way and end up really pointing the finger of the Accuser.Preach it Sister.The Holy Spirit convicts and convicts powerfully in circumstances where a Christian forgives on the spot, or "covers" the sin of an another with prayer and silence and lots of hidden intercessory prayer. Imagine the difference in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, if the Father had come out and said, "You squandered my inheritance, blah blah" to make sure the son got the message that he had wronged his father before he ordered the fatted calf to be killed. The elder brother might have liked that approach, no? How much more was the son's heart broken by his father's undeserved abundant love. He really got the message of how much he had wronged his loving father then.
None of us deserves Christ's love and for some of us, who know in our depths how guilty we are, it is the hardest, most humbling thing in the world to accept. Jesus' love breaks pride, every shred of it.The biggest changes in my life have come from people who have loved me with a Christlike love, who have treated me with patience and grace when I deserved to have them come down on me like a ton of bricks. The Holy Spirit convicted me because they did not step into His way to do it themselves.
Yes, sometimes we do have to speak up. Sometimes the words might well up in us the way they did in Jeremiah, like fire in our bones, so that we must speak.
But before you do, make sure you recognize that you have been forgiven much and that you love much to the point of tears before you do.
1 comment:
She makes some very good points. It's always important to keep in mind that forgiveness requires repentance on the part of the sinner, which is something most people forget. Her example of the prodigal son omits an important part: the son was repentant and began the conversation by offering his apologies to his father (although he was promptly interrupted by his father).
If someone is already convicted of their sins, certainly a charitable and loving approach will be most effective. However, if you're dealing with an unrepentant sinner, all the charity in the world will not make them feel convicted. They might admire your loving disposition and have a greater appreciation for Christianity, but they don't make any connection between your charity and their person sins because the latter are not even on their radar screen if they are not challenged. That's where some fraternal correction becomes necessary.
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