Friday, 25 November 2011

Don't Discard - Restore

Read : Galatians 6 : 1-5
If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one. - Galatians 6:1

A few years ago, a disturbed man rushed madly through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt's famous painting Nightwatch. Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and smashed Michelangelo's beautiful sculpture. The Pieta. Did the museum officials throw the damaged works out and forget about them? Absolutely not. Using the best experts and all the available technology, they made every effort to restore the treasures.

Christians ought to have the same attitude toward believers, whose testimony has been damaged by sin.When one of God's children falls into sin, our first thought should be to restore, not to condemn. Tenderly and compassionately we must pray and work to bring that one back to spiritual wholeness and fellowship within the body of Christ. The word restore in Galatians 6:1 is the same word translated mend in Matthew 4:21, where we read that James and John were mending their nets. It means "to make thoroughly fit. "

Condemning is easier than restoring. In disgust we may want to turn our backs on a sinning Christian. But the scriptural pattern is not to discard but to restore. - Dave Egner

Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,
Chords that are broken will vibrate once more. - Crosby





We can't expect others to see eye to eye with us if we look down on them.


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