Jesus said to his disciples, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” (Luke 17:1-4, NRSV)
This is a verse I keep close to my heart! As a spiritual leader it would be bad for me to lead someone astray to do something that God did not call them to do or be.
We need to point out sins and keep brothers and sisters as part of the fold, so if we lead others astray or cause them to sin, we should just tie a millstone around our neck and throw ourselves into the sea… Now a millstone is no small stone. You can see from the pictures here, one of someone tieing the millstone around their neck and falling into the water, and another of a millstone by itself. Look at the building in the background of the picture. Jesus is serious here about us not leading others astray…
Yet have I?
Have all of us led someone astray.
This could be like welcoming, we do not mean to be unwelcoming, it just happens…
Have you ever offered a drink of alcohol to someone you just met? Could they have been an alcoholic, and thus you were enabling their addiction and leading them astray…
The point is we all must forgive others, and try to keep ourselves and our brothers and sisters focused on the Lord!
aSacredRebel 