Strengthening the Weak

The weak, the sick, and the injured

   Still reading Ezekiel. This time chapter 34. Again, seeing God’s heart for those who are hurting. He’s speaking to the shepherds of Israel. (Not literal shepherds, but the leaders of His human flock.) “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. . . . So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals” (verses 4 and 5).

    Several years ago a brother in Christ made the sad but accurate observation, “Whenever someone from church is going through a tough time, they just disappear.” The Sunday school class member who struggled to remain free of the nonChristian faith of her childhood, especially when her sister was healed of incurable cancer and her family gave all the credit to their faith. The newly widowed thirty-something with four young children. The couple filing for divorce. The weak, the sick, the injured. Were they strengthened or healed or bound up by the church? Apparently not. When trouble came, they left.

    Ezekiel isn’t speaking here about those outside the flock, about bringing in new sheep. Evangelical Christians have a real heart for those who haven’t heard the Gospel. There are effective ministries all over the globe serving the weak, the sick, and the injured who are without Christ. This is one of the greatest strengths of evangelical Christianity.

    Where we tend to fail is within the flock. Believers in the younger generations seem to recognize this shortcoming better than their elders. That may be one reason why they’re leaving the church in such large numbers. I hope and pray that instead of leaving, they’ll be a part of the solution. When younger pastors speak at my church, they address this issue with broken hearts.

    It’s encouraging to see that some changes are occurring, because Ezekiel tells us what happens when we neglect our own weak and sick and injured. They scatter and become food for all the wild animals. As my brother observed, physically, they leave. Spiritually, they become prey for other worldviews and belief systems.

    Just what do these weak and sick and injured look like? And how do we strengthen, heal, and bind them up? The first question is easier to answer than the second. Weak, sick, and injured Christians have substance abuse problems. Their marriages are falling apart. They’re mentally ill. They’re engaging in sexual immorality. They’re struggling with doubts and fears. They’re addicted to pornography. The list goes on.

Strengthening, healing, and binding up

    It’s true that the church is expected to hold its members to a high standard of ethical conduct. When Paul hears of a case of blatant sexual sin in Corinth, he tells the church to “Expel the wicked man from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:13). Some of the forms of suffering mentioned above involve immoral actions. It sounds like we should just kick out anyone who’s engaging in them. Maybe it’s for the best when they leave of their own accord.

    But 1 Corinthians 5:13 isn’t the end of the story. Paul may be referring to this same situation when he later writes, “The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him” (2 Corinthians 2:6-8). He also advises the Galatians, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently” (Galatians 6:1).

    If someone is flagrantly defying God, as the man in the first letter to the Corinthians was proudly doing, it’s appropriate to call him to repentance. But when he’s hurting from the burden of his sin, we need to forgive him, comfort him, and reaffirm our love for him in order to restore him. Can I do that with someone who’s just been released from prison? Can I do that with the pastor who was caught in an adulterous affair? Can I do that with the young woman who is back at church after two weeks in a psychiatric hospital on suicide watch? I don’t always know when to admonish and when to offer support, but according to the Bible what I do must be done in love and with the goal of restoring a fellow believer’s relationship with God. That process just might start with a kind and gentle relationship with me.

    I still remember how much my heart was touched the first time I read, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3; applied to Jesus in Matthew 12:20). How many Christians who are struggling with substance abuse, failed marriages, sexual immorality, mental illness, or other forms of suffering are more like bruised reeds in need of support than defiant sinners in need of discipline? How often do we break those reeds and snuff out those wicks rather than strengthening the weak, healing the sick, binding up the injured, bringing back the strays, and searching for the lost of our own flock?