Five of the easiest words to say are “If I were in charge ….” Have you ever noticed that: 98% of the time, “If I were in charge …” is a prelude to a sharp, thinly-veiled criticism of the person who IS in charge? 99% of the time, the audience for “If I were in charge …” is anyone except the person who IS in charge? 100% of the time, the one who says “If I were in charge …” truly is unaware of all of the factors involved in the decisions made by the person who IS in charge? …

The words of a particular old hymn have returned to my mind several times throughout this Good Friday. Too many modern churches have lost all but the most famous of hymns. Man of Sorrows by Philip Bliss is one I don’t believe I have ever heard in a local church worship service. My only exposure to it was at the Urbana Missions Conference I attended when I was in college (long before I ever seriously considered becoming a missionary myself). And yet, I have never forgotten the tune or the power of thousands of voices united in fervently singing: “Man…

Caleb and Hannah are home from college for the long holiday weekend and all is right with the world – if only temporarily.  It won’t be long now before they’ll be back for the summer months, so I picked up the pace this week on some cosmetic work in Hannah’s old bedroom – patching some drywall, adding some trim and fresh paint. I had hoped to have it livable by the time her cousin dropped her at home this evening, but it didn’t happen. Tomorrow morning it will be top priority to at least reach a state where it is…

I frequently flip channels on the car radio as I drive, desperately looking for songs from the 80s. This leaves me with at least a passing familiarity with current pop music, which is largely terrible (something it has in common with 80s music).  There’s one song I have heard a lot in the past year that I have been back in the States and it leaves me so sad each time: I Hope by Gabby Barrett. If you’re not familiar with it, do not judge the song by the title; it is definitely not about “hope” in a biblical sense.…

I maintain that confronting a brother or sister in Christ when they have sinned against us in some way and then forgiving them if they repent (as commanded in Luke 17:3) is the exact opposite of what we want to do in such circumstances and thus it is the exact opposite of what we typically do.  What Jesus asks flies in the face of not only our fallen human nature, but also our sense of justice. The other person sinned against us and now we are the ones on the hook? We are the ones who have to do the hard thing…

There is at least one other way a Luke 17:3 confrontation could go wrong. It’s not even hinted at by Jesus in the passage, but I know it from personal experience. What if, when we rebuke a brother or sister who has sinned against us, the opposite of repentance and reconciliation occur? What if they dig in their heels and cover their tracks? Here’s my experience in vague terms: This person was doing some passive-aggressive posting on Facebook and it was pretty thinly veiled. A mutual friend had alerted me to the situation. The circumstances necessitated that my rebuke had…

So let’s assume that we are hurt by a brother or sister in Christ and we decide to confront that person and rebuke him or her face to face and give the opportunity to repent in accordance with Luke 17:3.  Surely our obedience will be rewarded with smooth conversation where the offender sees the error of his or her ways and then asks for forgiveness. Maybe we will come to understand better how we ourselves contributed to the conflict and we also apologize. We cry together, we hug, and then we move forward with a newfound unity in Christ. Right?…

In the midst of this conversation about “rebuking a fellow believer who has sinned against you”, it occurs to me that there are five simple words I have discovered to make living out the Christian faith so much easier day to day: “Unless that makes you uncomfortable”. I have found that if I mentally tack these five words onto the tail end of any biblical commandment, my mind is put at ease instantly. Just look at how it “fixes” Luke 17:3:  “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them … unless that makes you uncomfortable.” Problem solved! And it works…

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them, and if they repent, forgive them.” Do you know what you might find out if you have been sinned against by a brother or sister in Christ and you decide to obey the Lord’s command in Luke 17:3 and actually confront that person face to face and put forward an honest and respectful rebuke in hope of repentance? Maybe … he is sincerely sorry. Maybe … she really is unaware of the hurt she caused. Maybe … he actually wants to be a better person. Maybe … it was all a…