Stress Test Devotional April 27
April 27, 2024
GALATIANS 6:1-2
My friends, if anyone is really caught transgressing, the spiritual ones among you should restore this person in a spirit of gentle humility, remembering yourselves so you are not put to the test.
Here Paul stresses the great maturity required to correct others and the conditions under which this is possible. He notes that correction must be for things we know are clearly wrong and should be undertaken by those working under the Spirit’s direction. It should aim not to fix others or put them in their place, but to restore them. Those correcting must be humble, knowing we are all vulnerable to missteps, and so we must feel the weight of the other person’s life struggle.
These faith community instructions apply equally strongly to our families and to our other networks of relationship.
Prayer
Gracious God, If we value others as you do and respect their freedom and integrity, we must be so careful about correction. Yet we need to be able to help one another to grow and develop and change. Give us wisdom, restraint, and gentle attitudes in this task, with our church, and within our homes. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
