Tag: falling away

One of the best things my little brother ever did for me is something many would not understand, and some would disagree with. Admittedly, when he decided to take action, I thought he was being ridiculous. I understood his intent but gave little thought to the strength and courage it took him to take the stance. I know now his reasons were sound, but back then, I was so wrapped up in my life I wasn’t about to listen. Instead, I acted as if it was “his” choice and dismissed his decision, although down deep, it bothered me.

At that time in my life, I was a young baptized man with a “milk feed” understanding of scripture. Although I knew better, I had allowed myself to slowly become consumed in worldly ways. Although mindful that I was on the wrong path, I ignored my bad choices rather than change direction. Instead of turning back, I stopped referring to myself as a Christian and convinced myself I did not want to seem like a hypocrite or bring reproach to the Lord’s Church, so I stopped attending services.

For some reason, I thought this was logical, but in reality, I didn’t want anyone to convince me I needed to change. So, I wouldn’t give them a chance. Instead, I ignored or avoided them and, in effect, ignored and tried to avoid God. I would smile, cut jokes, “always had to go,” anything to avoid giving birth to a serious conversation.

In later years, I realized that by my choices, I had been denying Christ, turning my back on His love, and crucifying Jesus yet again. (Oh, how much this hurts to think about now.)

My parents and brother tried to talk with me about my choices and what God’s Word says about my decisions, but I would have nothing to do with it. These conversations were like the plague to me. I didn’t want to risk changing my lifestyle, so I tried to ignore them. I feared conflict because it might lead to a sense of accountability or change, and I feared change might rock my relationships.

In retrospect, I was a cowardly man who perceived myself as strong and good. I played a dangerous game and gambled my soul, thinking, “God will take me back when I’m ready,” This was arrogant and foolish.

Somehow, I thought if I died, I could explain to Jesus how things came about and, because of His great love and understanding, Jesus would cut me a break. He would understand and forgive me. I think I actually thought myself so sly that I could talk my way out of eternal punishment by pleading ignorance.

Deep in the recesses of my mind, I wanted to follow Christ and secretly hoped I would man up. I recall praying from time to time that it wouldn’t take some significant loss or terrible event to get me serious about changing direction.

The truth is, it was not really a gamble at all; had I died at that time of my life, I was lost for eternity. My keen wit and ”worldly sorrow” would NOT have saved me. It would take ”Godly Sorrow.” Why? Because Godly sorrow leads to repentance. I was wrong and needed to realize it; since I was already baptized, I needed to repent (change direction), ask forgiveness for my sins, and live for Christ rather than myself.

Spiritually, I was in a worse condition than someone who had never known the way of righteousness (2 Peter 2:21). I was a baptized believer who chose Satan’s offerings over God’s grace and Christ’s Sacrifice.

My brother’s efforts were done out of love and designed to help me see the seriousness of my condition when he informed me that he would not bring his family to my home. While formal disfellowshipping is a decision of the local congregation, my brother’s refusal to bring his family into my home was a personal, loving application of the same biblical principle—protecting his household and refusing to treat ongoing rebellion as acceptable (1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:14). To many, this sounds horrible, but it wasn’t! It was an extremely difficult act of concern and love for my soul. And what I needed. He was also protecting his family from my worldly influence because condoning my chosen lifestyle inferred acceptance of that which goes against the teachings of God. His goal was never permanent separation. Like the instruction in 1 Corinthians 5 and 2 Corinthians 2, the purpose of the withdrawal was to help me come to my senses so that fellowship could be restored.

Unfortunately, my brother’s actions alone did not get me to change, but they did prompt me to take pause and give some attention to the seriousness of my soul’s condition. Years went by, and I missed out on opportunities to influence my nieces in positive ways because of my choices at the time, not my brother’s. I chose a lifestyle I knew was contrary to scripture and contrary to living for Christ; I was living in sin, and very importantly, “I knew better!”

My brother’s action was a blessing; it was one of the best things he could have done. It was far from the first or last thing he tried. He continued to reach out to me, and we talked about Scripture occasionally. We would still see his family on special occasions. The withdrawal was never meant to be the end of the relationship—only a temporary, loving boundary until I turned back. My brother’s influence and actions at the time helped lead me back to Christ and an eternal home with God. Today, we are the best of friends and brothers in Christ.

Since my repentance several years back, I have studied diligently and realized how little I understood of God’s will, grace, forgiveness, and the importance of ”my role” in God’s plan. We cannot just receive; we must give!

I wish I had been consuming both the milk and ”the meat of Scripture” when I was in my youth. Thankfully, I knew enough to realize that I truly had no excuses as Godly sorrow took hold of me. I knew enough to realize I needed God’s forgiveness and that for me, as a baptized believer of Christ, that meant change (repentance), asking for forgiveness of God and the Church.

With today’s understanding of Scripture and God’s love, I cannot fathom living and NOT doing my best to put God’s will first in my life; after all, God’s will is the best will!

Love is sometimes difficult and sometimes hurts, but love always wins in the end. God’s forgiveness and God’s eternal home are available to all who will follow Him and pursue God’s will over their own.

God First!