It could have been me

I have a good Christian friend who fell into sexual sin this past weekend.  I'm very depressed about it.  His behavior was wrong and unacceptable.  He has admitted his sinful behavior and is seeking guidance and healing and restitution for the person that he victimized.  He will have to register as a sex offender and face how the public will now treat him.  Nevertheless, I will stand by him and help him restore a right relationship with Jesus.   

His behavior serves as a reminder to all of us, especially me, that hiding problems, attractions, and addictions does nothing but end you up in serious trouble.  Continual ignoring of these issues could result in an eternity away from God's presence.  

One of my favorite songs regarding this is by Phil Keaggy:

IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME

I heard the news today 
That another soldier tumbled, 
A fragile warrior slipped and fell from grace. 
The vultures swooped to tear his heart 
And pin him to the ground, 
And from the shadows someone took his place. 

Today we talk amongst ourselves, 
We never bought his words. 
We say we've seen the madness in his eyes. 
Tomorrow he's forgotten as 
We've scrubbed him from our hearts, 
And as he bleeds we slowly turn our eyes. 

But it could've been me, 
I could've been the one to lose my grip and fall. 
It could've been me, 
The one who's always standing tall. 
For unless you hold me tightly, Lord, 
And I can hold on too, 
Then tomorrow in the news 
It could be me, it could be me. 

And in our hearts we fear the ones 
Whose lives are like our own, 
Whose shadows dance like 
Demons in our minds. 
We think to push them far away, 
We exercise our souls, 
We make them play the tune for all mankind. 

Today we talk amongst ourselves, 
We never bought their words. 
We say we've seen the madness in their eyes. 
Tomorrow they're forgotten as 
We've scrubbed them from our hearts, 
And as they bleed we slowly turn our eyes. 

But it could've been me, 
I could've been the one to lose my grip and fall. 
It could've been me, 
The one who's always standing tall. 
For unless you hold me tightly, Lord, 
And I can hold on too, 
Then tomorrow in the news 
It could be me, it could be me. 

But I believe there is a place 
Where we can run and hide, 
When we know that we can't stand 
For one more day, 
And I believe You're waiting, Lord, 
To hold me very close 
For You know without Your love I'd lose my way. 

But it could've been me, 
I could've been the one to lose my grip and fall. 
It could've been me, 
The one who's always standing tall. 
For unless you hold me tightly, Lord, 
And I can hold on too, 
Then tomorrow in the news 
It could be me, it could be me.

You can hear this song here

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

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