‘For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.’ Romans 11:29 NKJV
When God gives us a spiritual gift, He doesn’t take it back. ‘For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.’ (Romans 11:29 NKJV) And if God does not, we must not! Paul writes: ‘Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted. Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.’ (Galatians 6:1–3 CSB) When a brother or sister in Christ goes astray, the Bible tells us what we must do: lovingly confront them, gently correct and counsel them, and cover them.
The Bible says, ‘Love will cover a multitude of sins.’ (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV) Now the word ‘cover’ doesn’t mean ‘cover up’; it means provide a place of shelter and restoration where they can be made whole. Is restoring someone sometimes messy? Yes, especially if they have hurt others and brought embarrassment to the family of God. But that’s the point—they are still our spiritual family! The world is watching to see how we handle this. If we throw away those among us who stumble, why would the world turn to us for help?
Jesus healed a blind man by rubbing clay in his eyes and telling him to go and wash it off in the pool of Siloam. How far away was the pool? We don’t know. But he needed someone to hold his hand and walk with him until he reached it, and his sight was restored. And that’s what we have been called to do.
SoulFood: Jer 51–52, Matt 1:7–17, Ps 56, Pro 10:14–16
Renungan Hari Ini [The Word for Today] is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©