Justice vs. Grace
Yesterday, I got word that a friend from seminary was arrested for having sex with a 16-year old student in his minsitry. There were two guys, that upon graduation I thought, “someday, I’ll be able to say that I know X.” He was one of the them.
Today, my heart aches.
It aches for the girl — whose faith in her pastor, her faith in her church, her faith in God, her faith in herself have been undoubtedly rocked.
It aches for my friend — who loves God so much, and never in a 1,000 years, set out to do harm
It aches for my friend’s wife…and his kids — who will suffer because of his choices
It aches for the kids in the ministry and the people in the church
It aches for the kingdom of God — where, again, we’ve given people another reason to not trust the clergy.
My prayers are conflicted — I’m praying for justice, I’m praying for healing, and I’m praying that my friend will receive grace in the hour of his deepest need.
