I was on the treadmill when the song Big House by Audio Adrenaline started playing.  It’s a fun, upbeat song.  A good running song.  But this time, one line of the song knocked the wind out of me.

All I know is you need love, and I’ve got a family.

And I started sobbing, right there in the middle of running.

I’ve got a family???

I thought we were loved.  I thought we had a family.  I think maybe the one thing worse than not having something you long for is to think you have it, only to find out when you most need it that it isn’t there after all.

I understand not turning a blind eye to someone caught in unrepentant sin.  But this isn’t a sin issue.  It’s just not.  We have kept the Bible as our only standard and even after earnestly searching for how we might have been wrong, our consciences are clear.  Nearly everyone in our “family” has chosen to not care enough to even find out what the truth of the situation is, though. People who are supposed to believe the best of us have been more than willing to believe the worst of us, have chosen to avoid us, have witnessed in silence the harsh consequences that have gone beyond even what the Bible deems necessary when someone is walking in unrepentant sin.  I guess it would be a lot to expect anyone to respond differently.

But this is not at all like love.

This is not at all like family.

I guess now I know.