Injured brothers

  Addictions are very difficult to overcome. Trusting God with recovery from addiction requires complete honesty and a commitment to do the things that God indicates to do. God will place us well outside of our comfort zone, so it involves a lot of pain. The thing is, our comfort zone is the wrong place to be. Placing our faith in God to carry us thru the discomfort of recovery creates a new "comfort zone". "The Comforter Zone". God's Holy Spirit.

  I bring all this up because of a brother who has stumbled. I, and others, hadn't heard from him for a while. We hoped he was doing well. He wasn't. His relapse is heartbreaking. I wanted so much to shake him and warn him that there was danger ahead. But, he wanted to trust worldy solutions to spiritual problems. 

  Its a tough dilema figuring out the balance between caring enough to say something and being overbearing. When someone isn't reaching out for the help that they should want, it breaks my heart. Are we responsible to beg or plead with someone to get right before God? Unfortunately, nope.

  Our responsibility is to love, care, pray, and exhort our fellow brothers. We are to encourage them unto good things. If they stumble, it is NOT our responsibility to kick them at all. We are medics to our brothers and warriors to our enemies. 

  Truth be told, we sometimes are amazed that others aren't where we are spiritualy. This very fact is the peak of pride. We assume they aren't where we are because we are so much better than they. That is why the bible tells us to check ourselves before helping our brothers lest we fall as well. Remember, pride comes before a fall. Our pride says, "They fell cause they don't love God like I do". Be careful with those thoughts, dear reader. God takes a dim view of proud people. 

  I must love and pray for my brother. He is bruised and battered. He is going toe to toe with a great enemy and he can be victorious in Christ. It is not a question of him knowing Christ (he professes faith), it is a question of trusting God's word to do what it says it will do.

  So, I will carry my weak brother. I do this because I love him and I want God to be glorified.

  We battle as men. God's men. The only people who don't get injured in a war are the people who aren't fighting. So let's not pretend that an injured brother isn't a warrior, let's bandage him up, give him his weapon, and get back to fighting! Hoo-rah! Semper fi!