One of my greatest shortcomings and sin is pride and it seems, I might not be alone. In Matthew 18, we see the disciples debating who was going to be the greatest in heaven. Was it Moses, Abraham or possibly, they might have hoped, was it one of them? Jesus responds, it'll be a child! While being loved, children were a burden in a society that couldn't afford extra burdens. What a blow to a person's pride!
Jesus then lays out how to deal with a member of the church, who is sinning, and the key element is, doing it with love and joy, not pride and judgment! The church needs to be as diligent and committed to helping that brother or sister return, as a shepherd is in finding their lost sheep. We should be as joyful when a believer is restored because the restoration of a soul to God is more joyous than finding a lost sheep and a true reason for celebration.
As AW Tozer states, "wherever God and man meet, there’s the joyous rebound of the human spirit. Similarity is restored, and instead of God being a million light-years away, the man can hardly believe his own heart when he cries, “Oh, God is in this place and I didn’t know it.”
Join me in reading Matthew 18 and be encouraged!
