Gentleness: Restoring Others... gently

"Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted." -Galatians 6:1

This one verse is probably enough for today... Here we address the issue of conflict from within a believer. Unfortunately, most of the time, this conflict then spreads outward as the situation is addressed. How do you deal with sin in a brother- or sister-in-Christ? Paul says we should do it gently... of course I don't think that he means we should be timid or fearful of addressing the situation. No, we should not fear the situation, but rather we should fear for the soul of the person that we must confront. That is why we must confront them with compassion and understanding of the struggles of sin. We, as Christians, are not exempt from being tempted, but we are called to resist temptations, however, there are those things in each of our lives that we stumble over time and time again! This is where we need someone to come along side of us and restore us with compassion, wisdom, understanding... have you had one of these kinds of people in your life?
Maybe you had trouble with anger... and someone came along side of you saying, "Hey, I know what it's like to have issues with anger, but here's how I learned to deal with it... I give it all to God. I do business with God and He does business with my anger issues."
The scenarios are limitless, of course, and I could not hope to cover everything right here and now, but I hope you get the point I'm trying to make. We need people in the church, in the workplace, at school and on the streets who can come along side those who are hurt and hurting others... those who don't have peace and are stuck in the deepest pits of life. We need people of compassion, with gentleness and understanding, wisdom and tact in speech and action...

I don't think I've ever seen a person turn their life around because someone yelled at them, "You need to get your act together! Jesus hates your sin! He hates the way that you live!!!" Now... I'm not going to rule out the fact that God is Sovereign and can use any situation for His will, but as far as typical effectiveness in restoring someone goes... it's not likely that you would have much success at changing a person's life with a speech quite like that!

We must learn to deal in gentleness in everything that we do, but especially if we are bringing someone else's sin to their attention. It must be done in love... that is ultimately what must take place. You must show them that you actually care about their well-being and their spiritual growth in Christ. You must be willing to come along side of them... to hold their hand, if necessary, and be there for them every step of the way. Provide the accountability that creates responsibility in a person. And when they fall back down, be the first to reach out and pull them back up, once again, in love! Persistence, mixed with patience... this is the gentleness of restoration that Paul talks about!

I'm afraid that's all I have for today... I hope this has stirred some ideas in you, about how to deal with those whom you might know that are living in sin. Think about ways to restore, gently, those whom you must address. And also, think about how you react when people try to tell you about something that you might be doing wrong... if they are coming to you in gentleness, search your heart for what they are saying, and seek to make any changes that might be necessary to get yourself back on track with God!

Friends, may God bless you as you continue to grow in Him!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .