Only last night I read of a well-known Christian author and former pastor who has recently left his marriage and his faith. I don't know him personally but my heart was saddened at such news and I wondered how someone who had once appeared to be so strong in their faith and what they believed could turn their back on everything they once stood for.
Sadly he is not the first nor will he likely be the last. Even in our local churches we know of men and women who once seemed so strong and sure in their faith who have walked away ... often with disastrous consequences for their families.
I don't wish to publicise his name. A quick search online will most likely reveal it to those who are interested. I feel for his wife and children who are suffering the public humiliation alongside their grief and unanswered questions and a world turned upside down.
I cannot begin to imagine the sadness and confusion that has arisen due to this man's choices. His family. His friends. His former ministry associates. Those he pastored and mentored over the years. Other Christians who looked up to him and who are battling their own doubts and are not strong in the faith will be badly shaken. Those asking, like myself, what came to pass to cause a man to walk away from everything he once believed.
It's hard to understand - hard to get our heads around how and why he went from yay to nay. Perhaps he had doubts and looked to the wrong sources rather than the Word of God for answers. Perhaps he struggled with unconfessed sin or a sin that seemed too big to fight any more. Perhaps he started to tolerate things he once would have stood up against. Perhaps he forgot the disciplines of our Christian walk and allowed other things to crowd out time with God and in His Word. Perhaps the lure of the world became too much … too attractive. Perhaps he made himself a god in his own eyes. Perhaps it just didn't seem worth it any longer.
Whatever led him down this path, only those in the enemy's camp are rejoicing now. And those of us who still hold firm to the faith can only pray … for him and others like him, for ourselves and our families, for those hurt by his actions and who are perhaps now questioning their faith, and for our spiritual leaders who are in such a difficult place and have so much responsibility. And to be on our guard for the enemy who is on the prowl, looking to devour those he can deceive and destroy.
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