Steps

Anonymous Brazilian Girl

Innocencia—a young Brazil girl, abandoned as a child, selling herself on the streets. Jesus breaks through into her life via a church outreach team. Jesus! Innocencia responds to the outpouring of a Father’s love she has never known, and the love of a Son who has given all for her when she has only known the stealing of her innocence, being used, abused, taken. Taken all. But Jesus gave all. And she responds with joy to her new Lord and Savior.

But.

A week or so later the ministry team found her unconscious with a bag of glue at her feet. Dead to the world. Drugs.

Mez McConnell, the pastor of the team recounts, “My Brazilian team was devastated and angry; her repentance had seemed so genuine! We got her to her feet, cleaned her up at our center, and spoke to her about the commitment she had made to Christ. ‘Oh Pastor Mez, she said, ‘I do love Jesus. I have turned from my sin. Last night I turned a client down, and I am now only doing six bags a day instead of ten.’ She beamed at me with pride, and I felt chastened. Was I really expecting that she’d be a finished product on day one of conversion?” (1)

Small steps. But true repentance. Sometimes the mark of sanctification is not if we don’t say yes to sin, but how quickly we return to God and confess. Small steps. But yet sometimes those in the church judge. They are not where we are at. Their sins are different, more obvious. We don’t understand why they can’t say no. We don’t understand why they return. We don’t understand why she keeps enabling. We think they should be seeing what we are seeing. God just taught us about how to hold our tongue, so he should have taught them that by now too.

God has patience. He rejoices when a sinner repents (Lk. 15)—and is it only the first time? Maybe he rejoices when a saint-sinner repents instead of judges? What if we rejoiced in the small steps instead of condemned for the lack? What if we celebrated the small victories instead of pointed out how far they are to go? What if we beamed with Innocencia? Not so that she remains at six bags a day. But with her eyes focused on the power of Christ to leave off four bags a day, will she not be able to take the next step of saying no to four more? Rather than keeping her eyes focused on the bags themselves, on how far to go.

Oh! Lift our eyes to Jesus! Each small step is his victory in us! Celebrate with the angels. Celebrate Christ’s redeeming work. And the redeeming work will continue.

We get impatient with “slow” progress. We get impatient with the world and culture. But God is patient. He is patient with us. He is patient with them.

If the church at Galatia could speak to us? Have patience, for we too were led astray by things akin to the prosperity gospel.

If Peter could speak to us? God had patience with me, who denied him three times.

If Paul could speak to us? Have patience with those outside the body of Christ, for some of them are persecutors like me.

If Lydia could speak to us? Don’t give up on those sold to the riches of this world, for God had patience with me.

If David could speak to us? Don’t give up on the Christian leader who does an outright scandal, for God had patience with me.

If Moses could speak to us? Don’t give up on the murderer, the incarcerated, for God didn’t give up on me.

If the slave girl in Acts 16 could speak to us? Don’t give up on the demon-oppressed, on those shouting curses at the name of Jesus, for our gracious God was able to cover me too.

If Abraham could speak to us today? Don’t give up on the fearful, who lie about their wives and other things multiple times, for God did not give up on me. Have patience.

It is hard. When loved ones keep stumbling, keep rubbing us the wrong way, when we see no progress, when we see they keep hurting themselves and their families. It is hard to live with someone who doesn’t seem to be growing. It is hard to see that in the church. It is hard to see our culture cursing the name of Jesus. Oh, my Lord! Jesus, your name!

But Jesus bears it. He bore it. And he promises to build his church. And we see how great his power is in the cross and resurrection. Have patience.

“The next Billy Graham might be drunk right now…. Several of us were lamenting the miserable shape of the church…. ‘Why, you speak as though Christianity were genetic,’ the old theologian said. ‘Of course, there is hope for the next generation of the church. But the leaders of the next generation might not be coming from the current Christian subculture. They are probably still pagans.’” (2)

So love. Love like we have never loved before because we see the love of Jesus. Love is patient, towards the saint-sinners and the pagans. Love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude—all our steps forward are a gift from God. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful—love bears while God is working, and allows God to work in his way. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices at the truth—love rejoices in the small steps, celebrating each small truth victory. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things—because we know God is at work. We trust him, believe him, so we hope and endure. May we love as Jesus loved, those within the church and outside.

NOTES

(1) Mez McConnell & Mike McKinley, Church in Hard Places: How the Local Church Brings Life to the Poor and Needy (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), p. 49.

(2) Russell Moore, Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing, 2015), p. 206.