Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, so if a man is taken by surprise in some trespass, you - the spiritual ones- restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, watching attentively yourselves, lest you also be tempted."
In one of his first encounters with his disciples, Jesus finds them doing maintenance work - fishermen mending their nets. Nets were torn by various means, usually by being caught upon some unseen rock on the bottom of the lake. Discovering and repairing the tears in their nets was vital to their business. A small tear undiscovered soon became a gaping hole and rendered the net useless until major repairs were made. It was much easier to carefully inspect the nets daily and mend the minor tears as they occurred.
The word "restore" is the same word translated "mend" in the Gospels. What a vivid picture of what should be a normal process in our spiritual lives. Each of us is occasionally caught by surprise by a situation, an unexpected encounter, a temptation we didn't expect. The result? A tiny tear in our net. What do we need? Someone to notice and help us mend it.
Paul says we are to be "net-menders" for each other. In order for that to happen, we must allow "spiritual" people into our lives. Each of us needs someone to whom we are accountable, someone we trust, someone with whom we can be transparent and vulnerable. It is that person who will notice and call to our attention the little rip in our net and join us in mending it.
Lord, thank you for the "net-menders" in my life. Thank you for their love, honesty, openness, and faithfulness. Please guide me away from hidden rocks today. Amen.
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