321 of 365 - Restoration

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Galatians 6:1
 
Paul has spent much of his letter to the Galatians addressing how they have been deceived by these false teachers requiring adherence to laws for salvation. But he also recognizes that we are sinful people who will mess up and fall to temptation from time to time. And though it doesn’t impact our salvation, it does diminish our impact. He says that in these cases we must – with gentleness – restore them.

Our lives aren’t meant to remain in a pit of sin and its effects. We must seek restoration and alignment with the will of God. The goal is always RESTORATION. We are called to restore – not ignore or destroy.

Think about how most interactions with sin are handled. They are often ignored, hoping it will all just go away, or terrified of the consequences of addressing it. Equally devastating, the alternative is often a brutal and public attack, or behind the back gossip, all with harsh judgment.

Neither ignoring or destroying leads to a restoring. When we are dealing with sin, it must be handled with gentleness. We are all prone to wander. Paul reminds us to keep watch on ourselves. As we seek to restore, we must examine our own shortfalls. Pride is a sneaky and destructive poison.

Paul also reminds us we are called to bear one another’s burdens. If we want to know how to love our neighbors, we can bear their burdens. We all have burdens and we weren’t meant to carry them alone.
 
Life is hard and full of trials. What if instead of piling on more burdens of legalism and striving to save ourselves, we bore each others’ burdens? What if we became burden-lifters by preaching the freedom found in Christ alone? What if we were a community that carried each other’s burdens and made life a bit easier and lighter?
 
Questions: When it comes to sin, is your natural tendency to ignore or destroy? How might Paul’s words change your approach toward restoration instead? Whose burdens can you help to bear today?