When the Mighty Fall

Published on June 26, 2009 by Eric Landry

News cycles are funny things. What might dominate the news on one day is banished from our minds as the camera crews and twitter-hounds jump onto the next big deal.  Such was the case this week with the disappearing act of South Carolina governor Mark Sanford.  It turns out that Sanford was spending the week engaging in what the Bible calls adultery. Cue the boos and hisses here. Wait! Is this the proper response to sin? All over the Christian and secular web this week, pundits have been weighing in on what kind of man Sanford is and what kind of apology he gave. But two reflections have caught my eye and I want to share them with you.

The first comes from Mollie Ziegler Hemingway who often writes for the Wall Street Journal and Modern Reformation magazine.

The second comes from the good folks at Mockingbird NYC, a fantastic blog that will feed your soul. You might also get  sneak peek at sermon illustrations I borrow from them!

As you read these reactions to public sin, think through the way God reacts to our sin (both in its public and private forms).  Thank God for the grace that he has shown us through his Son, Jesus. Pray that God would make that same grace known in the lives of men like Mark Sanford who have sinned so publicly. Extend that grace to those in your life who do not deserve it but who, like you, cannot exist without it.