Helping those who are sorry they messed up

'IF A MAN IS OVERTAKEN IN ANY TRESPASS...RESTORE SUCH A ONE IN A SPIRIT OF GENTLENESS.' GALATIANS 6:1

When somebody messes up, God says; 'Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.' But what if they've disgraced themselves and provided fodder for the sceptics who already think all Christians are hypocrites? Why bother with somebody like that?
Firstly, : Because the Bible says, 'If a man is overtaken [caught by surprise]...[consider] yourself lest you also be tempted.' If it happened to you you'd want somebody to help you, right? And if you're thinking you would never embezzle money, have an affair or slap a child in anger, think again. When you're under financial pressure, sleep deprived, lonely and depressed, or your marriage is on shaky ground, you might be surprised what you'd do. Paul says, 'We are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so...self-confident...You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else' (1 Corinthians 10:12 TM).
Secondly, : Because Jesus is your example. While He had no time for Pharisees who hid their sins under a religious facade, not once did He condemn anybody who was 'overtaken' by temptation and failure. When they repented He forgave and restored them. Theologian Victor Shepherd writes: 'When we're face-to-face with someone who's been surprised because trespass overtook them, do we deflect their shame back into their face, or do we own it as ours? Do we rub their nose in it, or do we absorb it, put an arm around them and affirm our solidarity-in-sinnership? Do we regard ourselves as superior, or do we say, "Take my hand...I know the way to the cross?"'
The word trespass comes from the word 'misstep,' which means to take a step in the wrong direction or to make an error in judgement or conduct. When you lose your footing or you slip on an icy sidewalk, you didn't intend to fall but now it's happened and you need help to get back up again. That's the kind of trespass the Bible talks about when it says, 'Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.' In Greek the word restore has two shades of meaning:
1. Resetting a broken bone. Paul says, 'Christ makes us one body...connected to each other' (Romans 12:5 GWT). When you think about it, your spiritual family is even more important than your physical family because it will last forever. By reinstating a brother or sister who has been overtaken by sin, you help to heal their pain and enable them to become a vital, functioning part of Christ's body again.
2. Removing a tumour. Malignant tumours are life-threatening and spiritual tumours are soul-threatening. By removing one you not only help save somebody, you obey the Scripture, 'Bear one another's burdens, and...fulfil the law of Christ' (Galatians 6:2 NKJV). And make no mistake, sharing their shame and humiliation is a burden. Nevertheless, 'We should do it... [giving] special attention to those who are in the family of believers' (Galatians 6:10 NCV). In God's army we are not supposed to shoot our wounded. Indeed, if the wounded can't find mercy in the ranks of the redeemed, where are they going to find it?

The Word for Today 25/26 Sep 2008 www.ucb.co.uk