Faith and Family: Staying Grounded When Loved Ones Leave

Family can be one of our biggest joys, and one of our biggest heart breaks. This is especially true in our Christian walk. As believers, we take great joy in our families yet often we have members who fall away from Christ or even walk away intentionally, and this devastates our hearts.

The Challenge of Remaining Faithful

The hardest thing in this life is staying true to the gospel. What I mean by that is oftentimes when we see a loved one fall away from Christ and become involved in things they should not, there is the temptation to change our view of scripture. Things that used to be black and white now become a “gray area,” in order to make the falling away of the loved one easier or even justified. I think it might be one of the greatest stumbling blocks of our faith; staying true even when it means that we must accept that our loved one has fallen into sin and that their salvation may be jeopardized.

Jesus Understands Our Pain

Jesus knows the pain of this very well. In John 6 we read the story of people John called Jesus’ disciples, saying to Jesus after His explanation of Him being the bread of life,

“This is hard teaching who can accept it?”

And in the end the Bible tells us that many turned back and no longer followed Jesus. Watching them walk away surely broke the Lord's heart. I can just imagine, as He watched them walking down that dusty road, turning to twelve and asking them,

“You don't want to leave too, do you?”

Peter responds,

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the holy one of God.”

The disciples would not change their view on Jesus’ teaching just to appease those who have walked away even when they loved them.

Staying True to Scripture in Love

I know this pain in my own life, as I'm sure many of you do. But we just cannot change the truths of scripture to appease the world even when it comes to someone as close as a family member, no matter how much you love them or no matter how painful it is to you.

Continue to pray for your prodigals’ return. Do not change the truth of God for a lie. That is the one thing we must not do.