Don’t Shoot The Wounded!

Our world today is filled with so much pain, hurt, disappointment and failures.  Many are wounded from the past and the present!  Whether we like it or not we have a responsibility to the Wounded!  We are called to help, not to add more hurt, pain, sorrow or disappointment to their lives or situation!

Back in the early 80’s, Chuck Girard  sang this song “Don’t Shoot The Wounded"; it goes like this:

Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever
They need our love no matter what they’ve  done
Sometimes we just condemn them, and don’t take time to hear their story
Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one!

It's easy to love the people who are standing hard and fast and pressing on to meet that higher calling, but the ones who might be struggling,
we tend to judge too harshly and refuse to try and catch them when they're falling. We put people into boxes and we draw our own hard conclusions. When they do the things we know they should not do, we sometimes write them off as hopeless, and we throw them to the dogs. Our compassion and forgiveness sometimes seems in short supply. But I say...

Don’ shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever
They need our love no matter what they’ve done
Sometimes we just condemn them, and don’t take time to hear their story
Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one!

There are in this hour many people in the body of Christ that needs Restoration.  They are “Wounded Saints!”   It would surprise us if we truly knew the pain behind the many lives of those around us. Many on the surface seem to have it all together, and that everything is O.K., but that is not always the truth! The Late Joseph Parker once said; “Heartaches are found everywhere”, and he urged young ministers by saying “you’ll never lack a congregation if you preach to broken hearts.”  He said, "there is one in every pew.”  I believe he is right!

Tucked away in the secret chambers of many lives are deep Wounds and Jagged Scars;  many hurts, many broken relationships, and many things that date back from yesteryear. It is in this hour that the Church needs to be a FAMILY! The Church is not an Organization but the Church is a Living Organism!  An Organism is something that is Alive and has Feelings. 

Chuck Swindoll  said  “We need to understand one another better, accept each other more fully. and forgive each other more quickly.”

We are not called to TEAR DOWN but to BUILD UP!
We are not called to PUSH DOWN but to PICK UP!
We are not called to PUT DOWN but to LIFT UP!

In John's Gospel 8, the religious crowd of the day brought an adulterous woman to Jesus to be stoned.  Jesus' reply to them was clear in verse 7 “…  He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw THE FIRST STONE at her."  Jesus was not interested in discussing someone else’s  downfall, but He was more interested in restoring this woman and showing His  Grace and Mercy!!!! John 8:9.. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more."

What wonderful words!  "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." That’s what Jesus has said to all of us many times when we have fallen short of His Glory! "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.strong>"  Jesus was well aware of the seriousness of this woman's sin; not for a moment was He condoning it --- But because of His Amazing Grace, He was able to forgive and restore! We to need to be like Christ in this area and Learn to restore lives that are broken and battered because of Sin, not to shoot the wounded or jump on the band wagon with criticism, and negative talk but to be a lifter and a restorer!

People who find themselves in difficult situations< are already saddened and broken - They don’t need a brother or a sister in the Lord pointing a finger of condemnation.  But what they need is Love and Mercy and support! Galatians 6:2 is a verse that we all need to understand and put into practice, it says “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” What is the Law of Christ? Paul writes in Gal 5:14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The law of Christ is to Love one another as Christ loves us. This new commandment was given by Jesus in John 13:34 when He said  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Paul, in Galatians, gives instructions in handling the hurting, the wounded, and those that have had failures.  He tells us;  Galatians 6:1  “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”  This is how Martin Luther applies the command: he said  “Run unto him, reaching out your arms, raise him up again, comfort him with sweet words, and embrace him with motherly arms.” . Don’t shoot the wounded but reach out with a helping hand as a man would to a drowning person to pull him out of the water. Paul continues in Gal. 6:1 with the exhortation and he says we are to do it  “… in a spirit of GENTLENESS, look to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” Gentleness is very important in the Restoring Process--- The doctor when setting a broken bone uses much gentleness & care, and we are to do the same. There is another song that says …

“Don’t point a finger but lend a Hand

If you see a brother stumble Reach out and help him stand
We should all work together so near the Promise land
“Don’t point a finger but lend a hand"

If we would follow the instruction of Paul - much unkind gossip would be avoided, more serious backsliding prevented, the good of the church advanced, and the name of Christ Glorified. SO …..

Don’t shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever
They need our love no matter what they’ve done

Sometimes we just condemn them, and don’t take time to hear their story
Don’t shoot the wounded, someday you might be one!

Blessings