Daily Devotional Friday 6th November 2020
by William MoodyGalatians 6:1–10
Bear One Another’s Burdens
6:1 Brothers,1 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.
6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Footnotes
[1] 6:1
Or Brothers and sisters; also verse 18 (ESV)
Paul calls for love in helping to restore believers who have fallen in sin (v1). Those seeking to help those in sin need to be careful that they are not dragged down themselves. This helping each other must not be avoided as we’re called to carry each other’s burdens (v2).
One of the great barriers to helping others is thinking too highly of ourselves (v3), which will cause us to look down on others and lose sight of grace.
To be useful to the church fellowship we need to watch ourselves (v4) and carry our own burdens where we can (v5). At times there are those who just want to receive and not to give so they are a great drain on the fellowship.
The pride aspect comes into sharing with teachers (v6). There may be some sarcasm in these words.
The great challenge for each of our lives is to consider what we are sowing (v7-8). Are we sowing to the Spirit or to the flesh? Are you helping sin or grace to grow and control your life? What you feed will grow.
Doing good can be wearisome, so we need to be encouraged to keep going on in doing good (v9-10). The promise of harvest blessing should encourage us to persevere.
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