A friend contacted me with a challenge I want to share with you. He works closely with the recovery community, and here’s what he observes: People make radical changes in their lives, but people who know and have been hurt by the “addict” are unwilling or unable to recognize those changes, to forgive, to accept and embrace that new person.
I have a friend who is a registered sex offender. He went to prison, came out, turned his life around, and was doing much good in his community until someone found out his sex offender status. He was hounded out of a job and out of town. Now he lives over a thousand miles away, trying to rebuild his life.
Another story: When a young man I know started getting into drugs, his “good” friends stopped hanging out with him (probably at the urging of their Christian parents). The net result: His only friends were fellow users. The pull of drugs got stronger, and the supportive community that might help him “just say no” evaporated.
I could go on, but you get the idea. Here’s my question: When you hear stories like this, what goes through your mind? How would you respond? What do you do when you’re rejected? How do you decide who to include and who to remove from your life?
Bible trivia:
Answer from last time: Jesus quoted the book of Deuteronomy when tempted in the wilderness.
New question: Which three prophets spoke into the life of the Old Testament hero and king, David?
