Spirit of gentleness | In spiritu lenitatis

My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted - Galatians 6:1.

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Reflecting on the pastoral writings of St. Paul to the church in Galatia. This church was primarily of early Gentile converts, who might still be struggling with their old pagan beliefs & practices, and might even conform to pagan occult practices out of habit or fear of being ostracized by non-believers.

It’s also a good reminder that each of us are called to be our brothers or sisters’ keepers, not to act like the religious police (or Pharisee), in condemning the sinner but rather to offer a taste of God’s tender mercy, if the brother or sister shows remorse, and a firm resolve to turn away from those sinful practices/habits. Like how our LORD offered His tender mercy and compassion to the woman caught in adultery and told her, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” (John 8:11).

As our (late) Pope Francis who compared the church to a field hospital during a Papal Audience in 2019, The church is like “a field hospital” that must care for the sick, even when our actions incite envy and hatred in others (Pope at Audience: Church a ‘field hospital’ that cares for sick - Vatican News).

I’ll close my short sharing with this hymn penned by Selah:

Wonderful, Merciful, Saviour 

Wonderful, merciful Savior

Precious Redeemer and Friend

Who would've thought that a Lamb could

Rescue the souls of men

Oh, You rescue the souls of men 

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper 

Spirit we long to embrace 

You offer hope when our hearts have 

Hopelessly lost our way 

Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way 

You are the One that we praise 

You are the One we adore 

You give the healing and grace 

Our hearts always hunger for 

Oh, our hearts always hunger for

Almighty, infinite Father 

Faithfully loving Your own 

Here in our weakness You find us 

Falling before Your throne 

Oh, we're falling before Your throne 

You are the One that we praise 

You are the One we adore 

You give the healing and grace 

Our hearts always hunger for 

Oh, our hearts always hunger for 

You are the One that we praise 

You are the One we adore 

You give the healing and grace 

Our hearts always hunger for 

Oh, our hearts always hunger for 

CCLI Song # 106879 | CCLI License # 167739 

Dawn Rodgers | Eric Wyse

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For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com 

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Reflection on Galatians 6:1-10 by Chris Tan.

Transformed | Nova creatura

We have been transformed into a new creation - Galatians 6:15.

Very often we want to become better and change ourselves. We make commitments and start new projects. We sign up for new training programs, and so on. But everything we begin by our own strength is usually not lasting. We need something else to encourage us and transform us.

The Apostle Paul discovered that only the grace of God can make a difference in a person's life. He himself declared: "Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6:14). The sign of the cross is the best explanation of how this grace works. When you are totally abandoned and without strength, you can only depend on the grace that comes from heaven — for as Paul heard the Lord say to him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9). 

The grace of God is the grace of divine love. Like every true love, it heals you without effort on your part, for "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). You can think of your parents' love, or of true friends who love you not because of what you do, but because you are precious in their eyes.

The Apostle Paul experienced how strong the love of Jesus is as he traveled alone through his life. He came to acknowledge that nothing and no one could fulfill all his desires but the love of Christ. He was deeply transformed by Jesus' presence and his holy word. Thus he could begin a new life in the grace of God, for "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2 Cor 6:17). He found peace and mercy not among men in this world, but in the heavenly Kingdom — that "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding" (Phil 4:7). And so he became a new person, a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

How is it with you? Are you feeling lonely and abandoned? Do you feel weak and fragile on your own? Do not worry — this is our common human experience. Do not let anyone trouble you, but trust in the heavenly grace you can experience every day, in every situation — on your journey home from work, for instance. Just remember to read the Holy Bible with full attention, and let the Holy Spirit work in you, for "nothing... will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:38-39).

Perhaps you too bear on your body the scars that show you belong to Jesus, as Paul himself said: "I bear on my body the scars of Jesus" (Gal 6:17). So be thankful that you are worthy to become a disciple and close friend of the Son of God.

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen" (Gal 6:18).

Reflection on 1 Galatians 6:11-18  by Jozef.

(Listen to podcast here)

Merdeka

Saudara-saudara, memang kamu telah dipanggil untuk merdeka. Namun, janganlah mempergunakan kemerdekaan itu sebagai kesempatan untuk hidup dalam dosa, melainkan layanilah seorang akan yang lain dengan kasih - Galatia 5:13.

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Negara-negara yang memiliki sejarah penjajahan, selalu memperingati hari kemerdekaan dengan meriah. Di Indonesia, sebentar lagi tepatnya tanggal 17 Agustus, seluruh Indonesia akan bersukacita merayakan Hari Kemerdekaan. Bendera berkibar, lomba-lomba digelar, dan semangat "merdeka!" bergema di mana-mana. Tapi pernahkah kita berhenti sejenak dan bertanya: apa sebenarnya arti merdeka itu?

Apakah merdeka berarti bebas melakukan apa saja, bahkan hal-hal yang tidak baik? Ternyata tidak. Sebuah bangsa yang merdeka dari penjajahan tetap hidup di bawah hukum dan aturan demi menjaga ketertiban dan kebaikan bersama. Kemerdekaan sejati bukan tanpa batas - ia punya arah dan tujuan.

Prinsip yang sama berlaku, bahkan lebih dalam lagi, dalam kehidupan iman kita.

Surat Paulus kepada jemaat di Galatia lahir dari kerinduan untuk meluruskan pemahaman yang keliru. Ada yang mengira keselamatan diperoleh lewat usaha menaati hukum Taurat. Paulus dengan tegas meluruskan: keselamatan adalah anugerah, yang datang semata-mata melalui iman kepada Kristus.

Lewat kematian-Nya di kayu salib, Yesus menggenapi tuntutan hukum Taurat dan membebaskan kita dari belenggu dosa dan maut. Paulus menuliskannya dengan lantang di awal pasal ini:

"Supaya kita sungguh-sungguh merdeka, Kristus telah memerdekakan kita. Karena itu berdirilah teguh dan jangan mau lagi dikenakan kuk perhambaan" - Galatia 5:1.

Hukum Tuhan kini bukan lagi sekadar aturan di atas loh batu, melainkan tertulis di dalam hati kita oleh Roh Kudus. Kita bebas — bukan untuk lari dari Tuhan, tetapi untuk datang dan melayani-Nya dengan sukacita.

Inilah paradoks indah dari kemerdekaan Kristen: kita dimerdekakan, namun kemerdekaan itu justru memanggil kita pada tanggung jawab yang lebih besar.

Kristus tidak hanya membebaskan kita dari tuntutan hukum Taurat, tetapi juga dari kuasa dosa itu sendiri. Melalui karya penebusan-Nya, kita bukan cuma diampuni, tetapi diberi kemampuan baru untuk sungguh-sungguh hidup dalam kebenaran.

Namun kemerdekaan ini bukan tiket untuk memuaskan hawa nafsu semau kita. Sebaliknya, ia adalah ruang untuk mengasihi dan melayani sesama. Sebagai orang percaya, tanggung jawab kita tidak berhenti pada diri sendiri — ia meluas kepada komunitas iman, kepada saudara-saudara di sekeliling kita.

Ada satu kebenaran yang begitu menenangkan: melalui pengorbanan Yesus, kita dibenarkan di hadapan Allah. Dia telah melakukan segalanya — tidak ada lagi yang perlu kita "bayar" untuk layak diterima.

Karena telah dimerdekakan, kita dipanggil untuk hidup sebagai ciptaan baru:

"Jadi, siapa yang ada di dalam Kristus, ia adalah ciptaan baru: Yang lama sudah berlalu, sesungguhnya yang baru sudah datang" - 2 Korintus 5:17.

Amin.

Refleksi dari Galatia 5: 13-26 oleh Meist.