Pain...Forgiveness...All That "Messy Junk"

My cousin recently posted a post similar to this (http://corabethsmith.wordpress.com/). I love hearing her thoughts! And part of it reminded me of something currently going on in my life.

You can look on her blog, but what caught my eye was that the church is made of humans, and humans AREN'T perfect. As Christians we can try our hardest to be the image of Jesus, but we will fail. We will fail strangers. We will fail our family. We will fail our best friend. And yes, it will hurt. Sometimes so much that we split from those we hurt/those who hurt us. But we need to realize that we are all imperfect and nothing is going to change that. However, I'm not saying that you shouldn't ask for forgiveness and try to change - that's how we as humans improve.

About 3 years ago, I got involved in a ministry in Haiti run by a few people, and I got to know them and their family. Around a year and a half ago, two ministries were combined: this one in Haiti and another near to me. Recently, terrible (what an awful word, huh?) truths came out. The two ministries have split, and it's been nasty (despite tries to make it as clean of a break as possible). I'm not going to go into who I think is right or wrong, any of the details, or even who this involves. Fact is, if you know, you know. I just want to talk about the IDEA of what is happening.

This has been tugging at my heart for months, and I constantly find myself thinking, praying, and talking to others about it. Reality is, this is very similar to a divorce. Each person will always think they are right, and there's just no agreement on who actually did or said what, etc. And a divorce will always, ALWAYS end in so much pain, even if there were justifiable grounds for a divorce. That's because it's not just the spouses who are intimately tied to their marriage, but each of their families, children, and even friends. My parents are still married, but my grandparents divorced. Even though it was many years before I was even born, I felt (feel) the pain from that, too. And I wasn't even alive for it. It's not just these two ministries who are hurt or confused - it's their family too.

The thing that hurts the most is seeing hurtful posts. Trust me, I've bitten my tongue (or stopped my finger?!) and it has been extremely hard not to reply to comments, emails, etc. You know what bugs me? When people claim to be all "Christlike" but are really acting in the opposite manner. That's not just in this situation, but many others too. As Christians, I believe we are supposed to mimic Jesus and his lifestyle as much as we can. It always comes down to "What Would Jesus Do?" Corny, huh? But SO true. I can't see him blowing up at someone else - yelling hurtful things, etc. Although there were times he lost his temper, it was not in a hateful or harmful manner. I mean Jesus (and God...and the Holy Spirit!) have feelings too - and strong ones at that! But, honestly? Don't tell me others are being so "un-Christianlike" when you yourself aren't either. Like that Bible verse with the speck and block of wood in the eye.

It's a harsh truth, but it's the truth. I can't help but think of the sorrow God is feeling towards this situation (cause YES I think He is involved in every aspect of this particular situation). Just like he feels sorrow when people get divorced. It's a sad day for everyone, no matter what side you are on.

It's hard to forgive. It's hard to love others. It's hard to love your "enemies" (or those you're upset with). But it's what Jesus would do...and that, my friend, means we should do it too.