being a faithful sinner

Last night after a long game of poker a friend and I sat down to talk about ministry. He won the poker game; I was blessed by our conversation. He ministers at a church that is convinced "Church Membership" is important. He could probably care less, but trying to serve has invited people to place their membership. Through a series of odd and random events my friend discovered a woman in his congregation who is placing her membership at the church where he leads. My wise friend sat down to talk with this woman. In trying to get a sense of what she believes and why she wants to join the church, he discovered this woman is on the verge of a divorce.

Early in her marriage she was unfaithful to her husband, but repented. She now has three kids with her husband and has recently decided to follow Jesus and do so with this particular community (maybe church membership isn't so bad?). This woman's husband hates God. Part of their marital problems are due to the fact that she is becoming a disciple. As soon as she starts to make enough money to support her kids he is going to leave her. Also, he is currently dating another woman while still living with his family. This is obviously a complicated and difficult situation. Right now we are praying for this woman's husband to know the Lord and to avoid divorce. Also, pray for wisdom for my friend as he tries to minister to this family, particularly to this woman's very hostile husband.

The title of this post is "being a faithful sinner." This woman is a sinner, but now she is trying to be faithful. It is now our responsibility as a church to be faithful to her and her family. Also, we can learn from her courage in trying to be a faithful sinner. She has messed up her marriage, but she is trying to take ownership of her sin and reconcile her marriage. What are some of the sins we need to confess and repent of? What can we as a church do to extend God's grace and love to this woman and her husband?