Terminal Velocity

When you trip and fall, you may skin a knee or elbow. When you fall from six feet or so, you could break a bone. When you fall from more than 30 feet, you'll likely do more damage than that. When you fall from grace, you've reached a terminal velocity that destroys not only the body, but also the soul. This week, I found out an old friend fell.

I was in staff devotions on Wednesday morning when his church was named during prayer time as a body in turmoil needing much prayer. Nothing else was mentioned, but because the pastor was my old friend, I was concerned for this flock that he had been shepherding.

Turns out, my friend is the epicenter of the pain quaking through this church. And, even though we haven't had any contact in years, I am quaking too. I am rocked by the shock waves of this sin. I grieve for him because scripture warns those who accept the mantle of leadership, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" (James 1:3). I grieve for his wife and sons. I grieve for his parents. I grieve for this church that trusted him and now has to figure out how to follow both 1 Corinthians 5:9-11,

"I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat,"

and yet, be willing to accept a broken, repentant man back with all of the grace Christ has extended to each of us. And, I grieve for the bride, Christ's church and witness to the world. I grieve for all of those outside her walls that have one more reason to believe that Christ doesn't really transform us and will remain lost and disillusioned. And that makes me angry.

As I've prayed for them all this week, I've come to understand a single scriptural concept more completely.

"What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:21, 23).

The appetites of lust and our flesh are big, but our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs, though we keep eating until we burst. Because, as voracious as our appetites are, sin and death are even hungrier. 1 Peter 5:8 warns, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Devour. Picture something consuming you until you are nothing but bone, and then even your bones are consumed by the dogs that come after. Death in sin is to be totally devoured.

I've read "the wages of sin is death" and I got it. Sin leads to eternal death, life in Christ leads to eternal life. But, I see now that sin and death are too hungry to wait for the final day when Christ will judge us by our own choices. The wages of sin is death and the dividends are paid immediately. My friend fell and the terminal velocity of his sin has resulted in death. His ministry is dead. His marriage is dead. His family is dead. His relationships are dead. His witness is dead. Even the extramarital affairs that propelled him to this death are dead.

It's now up to him, and those most deeply wounded by this sin, to look to the resurrection of Christ and once again grasp the gift of life-giving grace. Only Jesus can transform death into life. I pray with all my heart that redemption will reign over them all.