GODLY ROLE MODELS

Recently a Pastor in our small town was featured in the small town newspaper. Details of his indescretions from twenty years ago were revealed. At first it was shocking, I heard the gossip and stayed out of it. Somehow deep inside I felt the Holy Spirit say, we don't know everything, we don't know the circumstances, we are not to judge. Not always do I hear this voice telling me this, sometimes as I read, I just pray for the person, or dismiss it as to the liberal news getting on their bandwagon again, and sometimes my heart hurts because we belong to God and when we stray from Him, we hurt the body. We often don't think of how our actions are going to affect not only our family but there is a much bigger picture. Twenty years have past and this family still suffers and the victim too, her family, her child, the consequences of sin.

As I was thinking about all these things, several things developed. One thing was this Pastor and his wife stood before their congregation and confessed he had an affair twenty years ago that produced a child. His wife had forgiven him long ago, he paid child support all these years, he even performed the marriage for the daughter he fathered about four years ago. He asked his congregation to make a decision as to whether they wanted him to step down or not. They surrounded him and prayed for he and his family. They forgave him and there were lots of tears.

With all this being said, again I mention "Godly Role Models" and King David is a man who comes to my mind. He was God's man. He was described as a "man after God's own heart." In this I believe the lesson is ......even great people who try to follow God fall to temptation and sin. Godliness does not guarantee an easy and carefree life. The record shows Davids infractions of lust, adultery, murder. He repented and God brought him back as a great leader, yet he still suffered from family problems, he still was lifted in pride at times and he faced the consequences of his actions.

I've learned alot from David, such as his sorrow for his sin, his humanness, his repentance, his life is much like mine...my family isn't perfect and yes everyone in it has sinned. So now what? I don't take David's life for granted. Some of the lessons I learn from his life are even though I strive to be more like Him, I will never achieve it until the day we are face to face because I have sin nature and although I do try my best to lead the way God would have me to, my family will still struggle and they won't be perfect.

I must daily repent, turn away from sin and run to God as fast as I can because honestly the only real peace that I have is in Him. When I am in His arms, when I am walking close beside Him, He keeps me from falling as often and when I do fall, He picks me up, I hate the way sin sneaks it's way in my life, I pray I recognize it when it looks so pretty and is so neatly wrapped up, I pray I see it for what it is before I become a victim, before I fall again. I want to be purged and pruned, I want to be a clear reflection of Him. I find much peace in knowing He is not finished with me yet. Oh how I want to be more like Him.