It’s painful to see a believer’s life not matching up their words. What are we to do without being trapped by their sin/issue?
Pursue Restoration
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load. Galatians 6:1-5
The truth is that we will see believers trespass in their walk with God. No believer is immune from it including ourselves. The trespasses will sometimes be gross sin like adultery, lying, stealing, cheating, etc. However, most of the time, the trespass will be subtler than that. They could be issues such as: being indifferent, harsh, gossipy, rude, flaky, demeaning, non-communicative, being competitive, etc. Sadly, it’s the subtle issues that affect relationships frequently and kill them quietly! We can’t ignore trespasses, but we can’t be shocked or appalled by them either.
God’s priority for us is to pursue restoration! Before a trespass is addressed, the scripture instructs us to examine ourselves and ensure that we don’t have a self-righteous attitude. Sometimes it’s easier to point the fingers at others than to deal with our own issues. We don’t want to deceive ourselves about our true condition and miss the log in our eyes!
Restoration is a process by which we are bringing something back to it’s true/original condition. My husband and I are going through a kitchen restoration. We have been in a repair phase for the last three months due to a water damage in the kitchen wall. The process of removing the old damaged cabinets looked a lot different than installing the new cabinets. The old ones were yanked and torn by using saw and hammer along with a whole host of other ferocious tools. On the other hand, in installing the new ones, things were done more carefully. The new cabinets were gently moved and accurately placed in their proper position. Then they were nailed down precisely where it was necessary and appropriate.
When God calls us to restore, He desires for us to look at the person/situation with the eyes of vision and hope. We are addressing someone who is valuable to God, and we get to build them up and see them restored. This will help us not to go into the situation with anger or frustration but have God’s heart for the person.
The enemy does not desire restoration but destruction! He is always at work to steal, kill, and destroy our relationships and cause division in the body. There is a battle going on, and we need to make a conscious decision as to whose side we are going to take. If we choose God’s side, then the Spirit must lead us and some things will have to die in us. If we choose the way of the flesh, we will feel great/affirmed temporarily, but the end result will be death/division in relationships.
The greatest difficulty in this area is when those who are in positions of leadership are the ones who trespass. I will share about this important issue in the next devotional.