Friendly Fire

We have too many casualties among God's people who have been shot and wounded by God's people. We have men and women who have been labeled as rebels because they made a mistake. Being human, they did something human and failed. Being unable to see into their hearts, we have assumed the worst and let them have it with a salvo of friendly fire. We have grievously wounded them, crushed their true desires to please God, treated them as if they were the enemy. Many of the "rebels" on the fringe of the church or those unwilling to even darken the church doors again are simply victims of friendly fire. Why should they return only to be shot at again by those who claim to be emissaries of God's love and forgiveness? We must not assume that mistakes are evidence of a rebellious heart and turn a soft heart toward God into a wounded one encased in indifference for fear that it might be wounded again.
And what must the wounded do? They must understand that they don't need men's approval to serve God. They must understand that God sees their hearts, and He knows that they love Him despite their mistakes, despite what other men may think. They must get back into the battle and bring their wounded heart with them so that they can recognize the other victims of friendly fire and encourage them to rest in God's love--not the foolishness of men's opinion. The church desperately needs their sensitive spirits to be sure that others with broken tender hearts will embrace again the unconditional love of God. And the first step to doing that is to accept for themselves the embrace of the God who loves them--the God who has always loved them--the God who will always love them. If He didn't love failures, those who have made mistakes, there would be no one to love.