Going After the One Who Drifted

Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20, WEB)

James closes his letter with a picture of what a brother is for. If anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, he writes, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. The word wanders is gentle and accurate. Men rarely leap away from the truth in one defiant jump. They drift, a little at a time, a skipped meeting here and a dodged question there, until one day they look up and cannot quite see the path anymore and are not sure when they lost it.

James says the drift is not the end of the story, because there can be someone who goes after the wanderer and walks him home, someone who notices the empty seat and does something about it. If you are the one who has drifted, understand that being pursued by a caring brother is not a humiliation to endure but a rescue to receive, and pride is the only thing that reads it as an insult. Let yourself be brought back. Answer the message. Show up when he comes looking. And if it is someone else who has gone quiet, someone whose check-ins stopped and who seems to be slipping away without saying so, consider that James might be describing your assignment for this week. The man who goes after him is doing something that matters more than it looks, saving a soul and covering a multitude of sins.

Go after him, gently and without lecture, the way you would want to be pursued if the roles were reversed. Ask God whether there is a man he wants you to chase down this week, and be honest enough to ask the other question too, whether you are the one who has wandered and needs pursuing yourself, and whether it is time to let someone bring you home.