If you are someone who has been hurt by the church and reading this blog post, let me be one voice among many who simply say “I’m so sorry.”
I’m sorry the church hurts so many of its own members.
I’m sorry for things that are said with the best intentions, for privileges or opportunities that are taken away because of your recovery and their fear, for being without a place, without community, without compassion, and times, without hope.
I’m sorry for your struggle with deep pains when others seem not to.
(Spoiler alert – everyone has deep hurts. Some just conceal it really really really well.)
Jesus is real and present. He meets us in the places where we hurt, the places we hide, the places we long to be fully known and fully loved.
In leading the women’s group through Sexual Sanity for Women this spring, I was continually drawn to how Jesus loved women caught in sex and love addiction – the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and Mary Magdalene.
Jesus wasn’t repulsed by their sin or unhealthy relationships and habits. Jesus relentlessly pursued them, even when they changed the topic in conversation or were missing his point entirely. Jesus wasn’t flustered when they were brought bare naked before him. Jesus wasn’t superficial in suggesting a substitutionary solution to a gaping wound of addiction. Jesus went for the jugular. Jesus offered hope and connection while these women were in a place of desperation and loneliness.
The woman at the well wanted to be fully known. She marveled at how deeply Jesus knew her. Everyone else already knew everything she had done. But after meeting Jesus, she ran to tell people “Come and meet this man who told me everything I’ve ever done!”
The woman caught in adultery wanted to be free of shame. She was dragged, unclothed, and completely exposed in front of not only Jesus, but a large group of men. Jesus didn’t judge her. AT. ALL. He simply said “Go and sin no more.” She left covered in grace.
Mary Magdalene was someone Jesus met and engaged in community with, so much so that she is one of the women at the foot of the cross in Christ’s last moments. Jesus wasn’t afraid to be seen with her. Jesus cherished her in a way no other man had. Jesus healed the wound of unhealthy male relationships. She learned how men can be our brothers through Christ and the love of the disciples.
I’m so sorry. I’m sorry the church has hurt you. It’s hurt me too. But we are human. Part of recovery is healing. This healing is continual, consistent and exponential. When we are actively pursuing recovery, we realize how much we need grace and we are able to extend that grace to others.
Jesus set an amazing example. But He is Jesus. We get a tiny peek at what heaven will be like through being a part of the local body of Christ in our communities. And they are absolutely imperfect. People say the wrong things, do the wrong deeds, and think the wrong thoughts.
Have you ever thought about the responsibility we in the recovery community have as part of the church? Part of telling our story is sharing our recovery with safe people who are experiencing the same addictive behaviors we were once enslaved to. Many in the church are walking through a dark time of addiction, whether they are experiencing it themself or as a spouse, sibling, child or friend of someone who is enslaved to addictive behaviors. Christ died to set us free. Through recovery, we learn tools and healthy behaviors to become those completely unencumbered, free children of God. Even those in the local body are experiencing addiction. It is evident and active in the body of believers all around us. Whether it’s someone who hasn’t started recovery or someone who has been a sponsor for twenty years, Christ’s redemption and resurrection reaches into the recesses of the deepest parts of us, including our relationships.
It’s scary to expose yourself to others when you don’t know how they will react or who they will share your story with. It is your story to tell. Who is God calling you to share your story with? And how will your story impact someone else’s? These three women of the Bible have impacted my story. And they always will.
