In my novel A Summer in Shady Springs, my main character has been hurt badly by Christians. So badly, in fact, that she and her mother decide to change hometowns and never come back to church.
That might seem extreme, but I’ve met people—and I bet you have too—who either drifted away or stormed out on the Church because of the sins of Christians.
Have you ever heard Christians described as hypocrites? Or maybe you’ve even thought it yourself. Not about all believers in general, but about specific ones who let you down.
When I was a kid, I thought that none of the adults I knew and loved could do any wrong. Then I found out about some really terrible things a man who worked at our church had done.
I decided that man was a one-off and that the rest of the grownups at church were really wonderful people who never made mistakes, or at least not very big ones.
But when I grew into a teenager, I discovered that actually a lot of people make mistakes. Then as an adult I discovered that actually all people make mistakes. And some of them are real doozies. Sometimes they even cause other people to abandon their faith.
But what can we do when the people who claim to love Jesus let us down in really big ways?
In Matthew 18, Jesus tells about a man who is forgiven an enormous debt by his king. Instead of leaping for joy and offering grace out of the overflow of his heart, he turns to his servant and condemns him for a much smaller offense. The king in turn, throws the unforgiving man in prison.
When my main character, Madeleine, reads these words of Jesus, she is struck to the core. She’s been harboring anger in her heart for the Christians who hurt her and the father who abandoned her for a decade. And letting go of that anger is not easy.
But what is waiting for us on the other side of forgiveness? Only the forgiveness of the Creator.
Now that is worth a lot.
God isn’t telling us to forgive others because He is discounting the magnitude of our hurt, but because He wants to give us freedom.
But how can we forgive people like Jesus does? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit. And when we tap into that power, not only can we forgive each other, but we can build the Church into a place of love and grace that reflects Christ instead of driving people away.
My prayer for you is that you know Christ’s love and forgiveness. And that you can show it to those around you today.
The last place Madeleine Mullins wants to be is back in Shady Springs, Arkansas—the town where her whole world fell apart. But when her beloved Aunt Clara begs her for help, Madeleine reluctantly takes a job painting a mural at her aunt’s church. Her plan is to finish quickly and leave her bad memories behind. But the more time she spends with the handsome youth minister and the more she reads her Bible, the more she wonders if she has been wrong about God and the Church all along.
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A stay-at-home mom by trade, teacher and librarian by training, Sarah has been writing stories as long as she can remember. She finds inspiration in her small hometown of Prairie Grove, Arkansas; the antics of her children; and kitchen appliances.
Sarah has lived everywhere from Malibu to Nashville and many places in between. She currently resides in Tennessee with her husband, three young children, and thousands of books.
Sarah reads voraciously, but her favorite authors are Madeleine L’Engle, Julia Donaldson, C. S. Lewis, Mo Willems, and Jane Austen. When she’s not reading, writing, or rocking a baby, Sarah loves to sing and play the piano.
You can get in touch with Sarah via her Contact page or at sarahannecrouch@gmail.com. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook and Pinterest.