Hello everyone, today I am going to be speaking from Galatians and mostly from Galatians 6 more specifically. Here, Paul is wrapping up his letter to the Galatians and makes three really powerful things in just the first 10 verses. As I was writing about them in my journal, I kind of had a lot to say so I apologize in advance if this post is a bit longer than normal.
The first point that Paul makes is that when we notice a fellow Christian struggling in sin, we "should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." This point and the next one kind of go hand in hand but I have a bit to say on each so I split them up. This concept of revealing sin in another person's life is a delicate business I think. It is something that I want to learn how to do this year and my discipler, Kyle, is going to help me with that. But, for the time being, I thought for a while on the matter and came to the following conclusions. In order to be able to point out sin in another person's life, you have to examine your own first. Matthew 7:3 says "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" I think this is probably the most important aspect of this. You cannot go to another person and try to rebuke them for a sin when you have one blatantly sticking out in your life. I'm not saying you have to be perfect or sinless to approach a person about their sin. I think the point that is being made is that you have to examine your motives. Are you pointing out sin in another person's life to make yourself feel better about yourself or are you doing it to help the other person draw closer to Christ? This is a key point in pointing out sin. Another important side note, you need to know the person pretty well, in my opinion at least, to point out sin in their life otherwise they won't take you seriously or you don't know the extent of the sin.
Once you figure out your motives, the next step is to approach them about the matter. Approach them directly, not through another person. Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." So, don't go tell Johnny that Jimmy is doing x y and z but go directly to Jimmy. When you approach the person, do so lovingly, making sure they understand your motives and that you both are broken people in desperate need of a savior. This experience will be different from person to person which is why it's important that you know the person you are talking to relatively well. Don't speak harshly to one another but with love. That's about all I have for advice in that matter. Remember though, my word is not perfect, I am broken as well and my advice should be taken with that in mind. Look into this yourself and determine how you think you should go about a situation like this.
Okay, this is going to be really long but bear with me because this stuff is good. The next point that Paul makes is to bear one another's burdens. This command stems from Jesus' command to love your neighbor as yourself. If we are executing that command to it's fullest, bearing one another's burdens should come naturally. We are to be Christ-like and bearing each other's burdens without a doubt part of that. Just look at Christ, he bore the ultimate burden, billions of people's sins. So, we should do the same and help people when they are in need. What does this look like? Simple, serve one another. Be there for one another. Be present in one another's lives. When someone comes to you for help, be quick to offer your hand in whatever way you can. I challenge you to think and answer this question at least once a day: "How can I serve [insert person's name] today?" Do that and see how your attitude changes. If you are feeling really ambitious, think that question for a person that you are not necessarily too fond of. I dare you. Do that. See what happens.
The final point that Paul makes in these first 10 verses that I want to highlight is that we reap what we sow. Yes, I'm aware that this a very common phrase and perhaps even over used but I think it has a lot of meaning in this context. Paul gives two contrasting examples of what you will reap depending on what you sow. The first is that of a man who sows his own flesh. This man will "reap corruption." Not exactly a very pleasant return on an investment if you ask me but hey, if you love corruption, sowing the flesh might be for you. But, if you're like me and would rather "reap eternal life", you should sow from the Spirit. While this sowing will be much harder than sowing from his flesh, the reward is infinitely more great. You should really read verses 6-10 because they are too good to summarize. If we are sowing from the Spirit, "let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap". What this is saying is to always sow with perseverance in our hearts. Do not give up because you will get your reward of eternal life. While we are waiting around for what we sow to become what we reap, do good. I can't put it much simpler than that. Don't be lazy and just wait but go out and do some good things with the time that you have. You have been blessed with time here on earth so use it to your advantage. Make the ground more fertile so we can rejoice when we get to heaven and see more faces there because we didn't waste our time here. Sorry for the length but I hope you enjoyed it!
God Bless and Go Blue!
Tedd Sheets Jr.
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