Justice vs. Grace

Yesterday, I got word that a friend from seminary was arrested for having sex with a 16-year old student in his minsitry. There were two guys, that upon graduation I thought, "someday, I'll be able to say that I know X." He was one of the them. Today, my heart aches. It aches for the girl -- whose faith in her pastor, her faith in her church, her faith in God, her faith in herself have been undoubtedly rocked. It aches for my friend -- who loves God so much, and never in a 1,000 years, set out to do harm It aches for my friend's wife...and his kids -- who will suffer because of his choices It aches for the kids in the ministry and the people in the church It aches for the kingdom of God -- where, again, we've given people another reason to not trust the clergy. My prayers are conflicted -- I'm praying for justice, I'm praying for healing, and I'm praying that my friend will receive grace in the hour of his deepest need.