Sin, Faith, Duty
.
Luke 17:1-10
1. And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! 2. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. 3. Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him; 4. and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, `I repent,' you must forgive him." 5. The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6. And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, `Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. 7. "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come at once and sit down at table'? 8. Will he not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'? 9. Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10. So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"
Jesus warned the disciples that sin was inevitable—as are the temptations that lead us into sin. I don’t know about you, but based on Jesus’ comments in verse 2, I wouldn’t want to be the one who influenced another to sin! I have enough trouble keeping myself out of trouble without dragging others along with me!
Quite a high standard is set for how Christians are to behave toward each other. I’m taking Stephen Ministry training and Verse 3 sounds a lot like “Speaking the Truth in Love.” That means that if one of us sins, we are to call each other on it—we don’t need to criticize and belittle each other, but firmly and gently keep each other on notice that we'll act, if we see each other heading down a path that could lead to sin. It’s very tough to do! Especially because everyone doesn’t have the same background, or the same “intestinal fortitude” to withstand the possible repercussions of confronting someone!
But Jesus makes it clear that it our responsibility to do so. We also are to forgive, though. And it doesn’t matter how many times we’ve observed our brother or sister acting the same way—we are to continue to forgive and keep on forgiving as long as is necessary until they figure it all out. That doesn’t mean we enable them! It doesn’t mean we have to get pulled down into whatever pit they may be going. It doesn’t mean we give them the impression that it’s okay, because forgiveness is always available at the end. Sometimes the only way to appropriately deal that situation is to lovingly withdraw and continue to pray. But always be clear about our willingness to forgive and reconcile.
That sounds so hard. And it is! The apostles admit to Jesus that their faith is not strong enough—to either rebuke or forgive so consistently! Faith as small as a mustard seed—I think that means that if we trust in Christ, faith will be enough. Rely on His strength, power and might, and we’ll be able to do what we need to do—in every situation!
Again, I come back to how difficult it is! But again, Jesus says that we are to view these instructions as if we were the unworthy servants—and we are indeed! It is our duty to act as Jesus commanded, and demonstrated perfectly. That perfection is only possible when we allow His perfection to permeate our lives. That’s how we have the wisdom, find the courage, and maintain the composure to guide, direct, redirect, love and forgive “seven times seven.”
I hope you spend today watering that little mustard seed of faith—which can grow to be a 10-foot tall bush! And that you will always remember how unworthy, but blessed with grace we are.
Mary
