out amongst them

Galatians 6:  ¹ Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 

 

Restore them gently….it take a lot of love to restore someone gently. It is easier to be stern, and gruff. It reminds me of what a comedian called New York CPR. That is where you see someone in need, and you look at them and say “get up, or you are going to die” When we restore gently a couple of things have to happen, first you have to be full of love….yeah that is hard, but the other thing you have to do is go to them. Jesus did not wait for people to come to Him, he traveled all around His land reaching out to all He came in contact with. As a good friend of mine would say about fishing. “you have to get out amongst them”. My buddy had a nice fishing boat, and we would go down to the coast and do some saltwater fishing. However that boat was just a vehicle to get us to where we were going. As soon as we got to the spot, it was straight into the water. You know…..there is a fine line between fishing, and swimming…..I had to go a few times before I really understood why we were doing that. We could have stayed on the boat, it was dry, it was safe, and you had unlimited access to bait, drinks, food….life was good when you were on the boat. The problem? You just don’t catch that many fish. So you jump in. The back bay water is dark and murky, and you KNOW that you have to pay attention. There are stingrays, crab traps, sink hole, and you might even see a shark or two. You have to take your bait with you, you have to pack extra gear, and as for food, or drinks, you can forget it, you just have room for the bare essentials. The payoff though…..man, the payoff is huge. I have waded into many pockets of trout and red fish, and the day was spent hauling in the fish, and picking the biggest ones to keep on my stringer. That is what happens when you get out amongst them. You are in their habitat, you are no longer a fisherman, or a boat, you are just something else in the water, except you have a little surprise!

 

There is little wonder why Jesus said ‘I will make you fishers of men” winning souls is much like fishing for reds. You have to get out amongst them. Sure it is safer to stay at the church, your cubicle, your house, or your car, and just wait there is security, there is everything you might need there is the comfort that comes with knowing your surroundings. Yes, a few people will straggle in here and there, and yes you will make an impact on those people….but what happens when you get out amongst them? Oh, folks, I will tell you the truth, it is scary, there are sinkholes, and stingrays, crab traps, and more than a couple of sharks. You might not be able to take with you everything you want, you might have to wing it, and “get by” with less; but when those people, those that are hurting, broken, desperate, searching for food for their soul…..when those people see you out there, in their environment, wading through the trash, unaffected, and standing tall; that is the hope they need to see, that is the spark of faith that will draw them in. It is not a safe place to be, and we must be careful. This is why scripture warns us to watch out or we might be tempted. When you are out fishing with the sharks, you begin to see just how easy it is to be a shark. You might be tempted to fashion yourself a fin, and join in with the group. That is where the love comes in. You see a shark has no love in it’s heart, it kills, and it eats, it is primal, it is brutal, and while it might look graceful, and powerful, a closer look will show you it is a life of constant death. Love is what makes us fishermen, it is what will keep the sharks of the world away. It is also what will allow us to gently restore someone. The first thing Paul tells us about love is that it is patient. It is not rushed, it is not forced, it sits and waits, it knows that healing takes time. Love understands that you can’t help heal a soul, if you are yanking it’s arm out of socket trying to drag it down the road to recovery. You have to go to it, and show the way, then follow, while you lead.

 

Christ has filled you with that love, He has filled you with that patience. Sadly, the world does everything it can to fill you with  malice, impatience, indifference, and complacency. You might not have ever thought about it, but I am quite sure that the devil is safest while we are at church. I am positive that if he had it his way that is exactly where he would have us stay. Packed up in a tight little group, patting ourselves on the back, and never venturing out beyond our comfort zone.  So once again we find ourselves with a choice. Will we stay on the boat, or get out amongst them? Now I am not talking about all of us packing up and going on a mission trip, that would be great, but we are not all called for that. For some of us, getting out of the boat is nothing more than stepping out of our office, or our house, and taking the Word of God to someone who needs it, someone who has fallen, someone who is searching…..but we have to choose the safety of the boat, or the unknown that comes with stepping out in faith.  God did not make us to be hermits. He did not put all of this light, and love inside of us (yes, you do have it in there)so that we could horde it. Get out of the boat, find those in need, and restore them gently, and make sure to watch out for the sink holes, and the sharks.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22