Rehab

Physically after our injuries have healed we have to rebuild our muscles in order to function well again.  It takes time.  It takes work.  Those of us who have done it know that it hurts.  Is there a similar experience in recovering from healed spiritual injuries?  I think so.

If you have fallen into sin and you have asked for forgiveness, yes you are forgiven immediately.  The sin is washed away with and under the shed blood of Christ.  However, the consequences of a sin may remain.  The clearest example is that of a pregnancy that is the result of fornication or adultery.  You will be forgiven for the adultery or fornication, washed clean.  However, you will still be a father or a mother of the resulting child.  Trust is another that can take some time to regain.  In the past few years I have consulted companies that have experienced embezzlements.  While one can forgive the embezzler, one would not quickly place that person back into a position to manage one's finances.  

When our kids were younger we read a lot to them.  One of the books we read was The Berenstain Bears and the Truth.  In it the kids learn that a broken trust takes time to regain.  One who betrays your trust spiritually, either by lying to you, or even by teaching false doctrine, can and should be forgiven, but there may be some time and counsel needed, some rehab, prior to re-entry into the race.  This is what Paul was talking about in Galatians 6:1.  We have to restore, rehab, ourselves and those who have fallen.  It is our responsibility as believers.