Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God – Romans 3:35.
A personal sin may be one of commission (doing something that is prohibited) or a sin of omission (failing to do what is required of us). It may also express itself in either an act or attitude. Propitiation is the act of God motivated by His immense love, whereby He accepts the blood of Christ as the completed and satisfying sacrifices for all human sin that will establish a means of reconciliation between God and man.
One of the most difficult things for people to do is overcome the past. Mental health providers, social service and psychiatric practitioners, as well as the religious community, will attest to the fact that “issues from the past continue to reverberate and ricochet into the presence of most people’s lives causing a whole range of consequences from toxic relationships to emotional handicaps to even physical illness.
Guilt and shame of the past have to be released, God has promised healing and wholeness for our lives. This is critical, for, without the release of the past, people will continue to lead lives filled with pain that is masked but never eliminated. It’s like taking medicine to eradicate the symptoms of a disease, but never being healed of the disease itself.
The internal conflict related to the past is nowhere more critical than in the lives of females. More females seem to be afflicted with the burden of the unforgettable and unforgivable past because we make up the largest percentage of the church. In addition, women are more likely to have certain burdens of the past because society has had a “double standard” of conduct and behavior for women, and women who have “missed the mark” have had their own as well as society’s condemnation to live with.
The church should be a place in which the world’s system does not intrude. Unfortunately, judgment is too often made about our sisters in Christ that relegate them to positions of inferiority and failure based on subjective criteria. They are “disqualified ” from leadership, service, ministry even full participation in the life of the church based on their past experiences, failures, poor decisions, ethnicity, and education.
Women are coming to the church broken and in despair, it’s the responsibility of women who are Christians to rally around them to make them welcome rather than making them feel as though they’re a dreaded disease. Ninety-eight percent of women have felt rejection in one form or another and are very much aware that it doesn’t feel good, but yet when we see one that comes into the church that looks at though they may have been a lady of the night or they may not dress to our expectation, they are shunned by other women of the church.
When we as Christian women, should be rallying around them, making them feel welcome, and being a mentor. If their dress attire isn’t up to part, if they wear our sizes, we should donate some of our clothes to them. Most women have clothes they haven’t worn for years and will never wear, but we keep them rather than donating them to a worthy cause. Many Christian women are in church, but bleeding from wounds of the past, but don’t have anyone they can confide in because they will receive judgment, criticism, as well as being talked about.
As Christian women, and other women whether their Christian women or not should be able to confide in us as well as receive godly counseling (The aged women [aged or length of time being a Christian] likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things. That they may teach [admonish] young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet, chaste keepers [homemakers] good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed – Titus 2:3-5).
Women need women they can trust and confide too. Women who will pray in agreement with them, women who will fast until they see the person receive a breakthrough in their issues and dilemmas. Many of the women coming to church didn’t have anyone to teach them or instruct them, as Christian women, as God has given us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, we should pour it into another woman.
In order for a person to feel comfortable around us, we must be approachable, we must not be busybodies and gossipers. Women are hurting, and women need other women to confide in, women need other women to help them walk through their past to get to their future. As Christian women, we should be there to help them to release the guilt and shame, assist them in leaving the past and stepping into their presence, and to look forward to their future.