By Ed White
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:1-2).
As Christians, we have a responsibility to care for each other. Part of that responsibility is helping someone overcome a weakness or correct a fault. It is a delicate process that must be entered into with much prayer and a great deal of humility.
None of us is immune to sin. Jesus talked about removing a speck from a brother’s eye. Removing a foreign object from someone’s eye is a process that requires a delicate touch. It is not something that can be done at arm’s length.
By the same logic, helping a brother or sister overcome a fault requires getting very close to them in a spiritual sense. The person must know you love them and that you come to them only because of that love and a desire for what is best for them.
We come to the table of the Lord to remember the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf, and to have fellowship or Communion with him and the rest of God’s family. It should be our desire that every brother and sister enjoy that fellowship. If there is a problem which is interrupting that fellowship for someone and you know about it, you should do everything you can to restore that person to the fold. Remember, peacemakers shall be called children of God.
As we gather around his table, let us pray that all of the family will be involved with us. We are partakers in his body and his blood; and every member of the body is important.
Ed White is a retired Christian minister. He earned degrees from Mid-South Christian College, Alabama Christian School of Religion, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He lives in Milledgeville, Ga. His book of Communion meditations, Come to the Table, is available from Amazon.
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