Galatians 6:1-10 - Live creatively, friends. If
someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments
for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down
and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete
Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work
you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with
yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility
for doing the creative best you can with your own life.
Be very sure now, you who have been trained to a
self-sufficient maturity, that you enter into a generous common life with those
who have trained you, sharing all the good things that you have and experience.
Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a
person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the
needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show
for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s
Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good.
At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.
Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit
of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.
Forgiveness and restoration,
sharing burdens, taking care of the weak, resisting arrogance and comparison, focus
on making a contribution, give back, In short do all the good you can and don’t
worry about the rest. It will pay off
At the end of his letter, just
before he makes drives home the point about the division of over Torah law
(which will talk about tomorrow), Paul gives a healthy dose of what might seem
to be unrelated bits of advice. Work at
forgiving and restoring those who have made mistakes. Take care of each other, especially the
weak. Resist arrogance and comparison;
they are both toxic. Focus instead on
doing what only you can do for the community.
Whatever skills and wisdom you have gained from others, be sure to pass
it on to others. Do good and trust that
it will pay off. This collection of
prescriptions reminds me of John Wesley’s famous saying about doing good; “Do
all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all
the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as
long as ever you can.”
The thread that runs through all of
these seemingly disjointed instructions is life is community. You can hear Paul’s heart for the life of the
little communities he’s writing to be healthy and vibrant. To hear about the toxic divisions that have
emerged among these people he loves is breaking his heart. He’s trying to convince them that it doesn’t
have to be this way. The answer to
resolving this is to raise their level of consciousness.
The default level of
consciousness is to think about life as my life. Do I have what I need and/or
want? Am I happy? Am I being treated fairly? What is my opinion on a certain matter? How can I solve the problems I am
experiencing? I could go on and on, but
I’m thinking you get the idea. My
default consciousness is self-referencing.
Paul is calling the Galatians to adopt the next level of consciousness –
a communal consciousness. The questions
we ask at this level of consciousness change.
What does the community need? Are
there people that are struggling that need our help? What is the role that I can play in this
community that is really needed right now?
Do we have unity? What’s most
important for us right now? It is a
shift from “I” thinking to “we” thinking.
It’s seems very subtle but the effect is revolutionary. It’s also how Jesus lived and calls us to
live.
The majority of people in
Jesus-centered communities that thrive have made this shift. They think of individual resources as
community resources. They think of their
time as belonging to something bigger than themselves. Their fulfillment and happiness are found in
life together. Furthermore, they find that this is a more
joy-producing and fulfilling life than was possible when they were living for
themselves. This next-level consciousness unlocks the beautiful
combination of freedom and love for God and others.
Questions: Try to
observe your thought life today. What do
you notice about the reference-point for the majority of what you think
about? What is the interplay between “I”
and “We” consciousness?
Prayer: Creator,
Redeemer and Sustainer God, you have called us to life together with you and
others. Help us see how we may live into
this way of being in the world. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for the helpers today. You can decide
who those people are and pray for them.
Song: Life Together –
Geoff Moore & the Distance
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