Hold hands and stick together~ Galatians 6.1-5
11/24/2009 11:47:56 PM
Galatians #24 in series


 

Good Day, Brethren~  The greeting indicates that we are related—that we are family, doesn’t it?  That’s not an accidental connection.  We who share in our love of God are members of the same family. . . usually, that is a good thing~
 
In 1986, the world fell in love with “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten,” by Robert Fulghum.  Its simplicity and innocence still makes me smile when I read it.  I can’t relate to some of it, because I didn’t go to kindergarten or nursery school, but it sure has some good rules to live by—several came to mind as I was studying today’s passage:
?Share everything. ?When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.  ?Clean up your own mess.  ?Say you’re sorry when you hurt someone.*
 
With those in mind, let’s take a look at Galatians 6.1-5
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.  For each one will bear his own load.  (New American Standard)
 
As we begin our last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, I should like to comment on a good way of studying Scripture.  When Paul wrote this letter in the first century, it was not separated by verse and chapter as we see it today.  That was done hundreds of years later so that reference could be made to particular thoughts and portions—so that translating the passage from its original Greek, studying and learning would be consistent and manageable.  But for our purposes today, it is valuable to read the sections of Scripture, not just isolated verses, so that context is visible, and the writer’s meaning more clear—and then, go back and look at each individual verse.
 
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. This takes courage. . . to go to a fellow believer who is messing up, either teetering on the edge of big-time sin or already drowning in it.  Paul commands that we ‘restore’; he does not make a suggestion. The word for ‘restore’ here means to ‘correct’ as a surgeon sets a broken bone so that it may heal properly. Oh, I know it is more natural just to talk to other people about how that man is messing up his marriage, messing up his life. . . and sure, it is much easier just to tell your pastor what you know about how that woman is making the biggest mistake of her life—she’ll regret destroying her family one day. . . stop talking to others, and go to the believer directly.  While it isn’t necessarily easy, it is the right thing to do.  When you go, pray first, be humble, be gentle, but be plain spoken and clear.  Be very prudent with your words, and beware-----!--sin can be enticing.
 
Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. There is someone you know who needs a hand—she needs to know she is not ‘doing life’ alone.  It has been said that a load is only half a load when two are carrying it.**  Not everything can be shared, like a terminal illness, an unfaithful mate or a mental breakdown. . . but even managing any of these is more tolerable when we are not left standing alone.   Sometimes burdens, like grief, are made lighter through empathy, understanding, and compassion.  Look around you. . . who do you know who is terribly lonely?  “Practically every human being can recall dramatic situations in which he or she has experienced that strange inner gnawing, that mental hunger, that unsettling unrest that makes us say, ‘I feel lonely…’ Loneliness is one of the most universal sources of human suffering today.”+ 
 
Get in the boat with someone, and help them row. . .  Ask your neighbor how he is doing, and take the time to really listenlook into his eyes, and care.  You know, no one has ever seen like Jesus. . . do you know what I mean by that?  Jesus didn’t just walk by, He stopped. . . He looked. . . and He saw, and truly cared.  He made a big difference, and so can you.
 
…each one must examine his own work – Don’t compare yourself to other people, or their Christian experience or walk to yours.  Consider yourself only. . . how far you’ve come. . . where God would have you grow. . .
 
For each one will bear his own load.  Wait a second. . . do we have a contradiction with the earlier verse?  Which is it?  Well. . .there are 11 different Greek words that we translate with our one word “burden,” and there is a distinction between the two words here.  Simply, some burdens may be shared, practically and relationally; then again, there are some things which we must bear solo, save for the grace and presence of the Lord.
 
?When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
Why?  Being together matters.  I hope you are part of a loving, authentic community of believers and if not, look for one. . . then, hold hands and stick together.
 
Christine
 
*(If you wish to view ‘kindergarten’ in its entirety: http://www.heartwarmingstories.net/everything.htm)
**J. Vernon McGee
+Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out