My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out, and don’t be tempted yourself. You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.
If you think you are better than others, when you really aren’t, you are wrong. Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don’t compare yourself with others. We each must carry our own load.
Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said.
You cannot fool God, so don’t make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. Â Â Galatians 6:1-7 (CEV)
Never let it be said that God only brings me to the easy passages and that I receive an entire clear message that never has to be revisited for further pondering! This passage has many wonderful, valid points but when taken all together in context … I believe Paul is trying to get the point across to me that life with God does have some areas for me to balance.
The first point that I receive is that I am to be willing to reach out to my brother or sister in Christ who has slipped into sin. When the conviction comes to their spirit, I am to be willing to gently restore them. ‘Gently’ to me says that I do not condemn. That is not my job! I believe this passage is also encouraging us as a Church to make the restoration a family exercise so that not one of us is tempted to fall either into the pit of the one being restored or into a pit of pride. If we as a church are in the business of ‘seeking the lost’ then that includes restoring the lost also.
‘Offer each other a hand’ and ‘each must carry our own load’. Which one is it? There is that point of balance that Paul is trying to show me. In carrying another’s burdens, I have opportunities to pray for others, sit with them and listen, maybe even clean their yard! God shows me ways to let others know that I care and that I am there – right there for them. On the other side of God’s coin, He doesn’t want me to make an ‘invalid’ of someone by doing everything for them whether it is studying the Bible for them and spoon feeding answers or providing them with food and shelter, etc. when there are opportunities for employment, even at minimum wage.
‘A man reaps what he sows’. Here is a Kingdom Principle. It came to me that we as teachers and leaders in God’s Church would do well to spend more time teaching Kingdom principles than church doctrines. ‘Reaping and sowing’ is a Kingdom principle.
Remember this: the person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not out of regret or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.   2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (HCSB)
This passage is often quoted regarding tithing but it certainly speaks to me about the giving of my talents and time to God. If I give just a little of my time and talent to God (which, they all belong to Him any way!) then all I will get in return is a little. And God wants it to be given cheerfully with a glad and open heart, not grudgingly and with the idea that I have a gun to my head or because I care what others will think if I don’t serve! Reaping and sowing is a principle given by God to me so that I can grow strong in Him!
I’ll be pondering this passage for awhile today, tomorrow… I’d like to hear what God says to you about it also.
