Lift Those Who Fall, and Never Give Up
Daily Scripture
Galatians 6:1-10
1 Brothers and sisters, if a person is caught doing something wrong, you who are spiritual should restore someone like this with a spirit of gentleness. Watch out for yourselves so you won’t be tempted too. 2 Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are important when they aren’t, they’re fooling themselves. 4 Each person should test their own work and be happy with doing a good job and not compare themselves with others. 5 Each person will have to carry their own load.
6 Those who are taught the word should share all good things with their teacher.7 Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant. 8 Those who plant only for their own benefit will harvest devastation from their selfishness, but those who plant for the benefit of the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. 10 So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The apostle Paul never saw the Christian life as a solitary personal struggle. We always need each other on the journey, especially when it gets hard. Scholar William Barclay wrote, “The word he uses for “restore” is used for executing a repair and also for the work of a surgeon in removing some growth from a person’s body or in setting a broken limb. The whole atmosphere of the word lays the stress not on punishment but on cure.” *
- After some heavy theological lifting in the first part of Galatians, in today’s reading, Paul talked about relationships. He focused on ways the Galatian Christians could help or hurt one another. In other words, he talked about choices we make in living in community. When have you seen your choices, or those of someone close to you, “sow” one or more negative effects? Why is it a mistake to assume “God’s will” caused the negative effects of your choices?
- Your choices can and should, of course, cause good effects, too. Verse 9 said doing good takes regular focus and renewal. “The first verb [get tired] puts emphasis on losing interest (for example, ‘spiritless’) and the second [give up] on becoming discouraged or relaxing one’s efforts” **. Paul deliberately used a broad term—there are lots of ways of “doing good.” Have you ever gotten tired of “doing good”? If so, what helped renew your energy to bless others?
Prayer
King Jesus, I want to sow love, caring and light through my choices each day. Keep me growing into a person who is mainly a cause of good effects in the lives of others. Amen.
GPS Insights
Gwyn Thomas
Gwyn Thomas, who serves in donor relations at Resurrection, wrote today's Insights blog. A Boston native. she moved to Kansas City in 2020. Her husband Blake is a Congregational Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood and a provisional elder in the UMC. Her favorite pastimes include pottery, hiking, frisbee, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her two children and their large orange cat, Tuna.
I’m an extrovert and I love meeting new people and crave closeness. But in 2020, my husband Blake and I moved to Kansas City so he could pursue his calling to ministry at Resurrection. While Blake had grown up in the area, he hadn’t lived here full-time in over seven years, and many of his friendships had faded in closeness. We found ourselves in a season of isolation, with the pandemic creating even more barriers to connection.
I require social settings to feel like myself. Being in a new city and confined to our home was incredibly difficult for me. I worked remotely for a nonprofit based in Chicago, where we’d just moved from, and my closest friends were no longer a quick 10-15 minute drive away. We had only been here a month or so when we decided to join a small group for young married couples. We were introduced to a few others who were also looking for community, and that’s how our “misfit group” began.
I call us misfits jokingly; and if anyone from my group is reading this, I know they’re already chuckling. We were five couples representing four Resurrection locations. Our jobs spanned all kinds of professions: Pastor, Accountant, Physical Therapists, Social Workers, Yoga Instructor, Nonprofit Professional, Culinary Expert, and Pediatric Neurologist. Needless to say, it wasn’t always easy to maintain a consistent weekly rhythm.
A few months in, I found myself opening up to the group and sharing how hard the move had been. I said, word-for-word: “It’s really hard to not have any friends.” As soon as I finished speaking (and, if I’m honest, complaining), one of the women looked at me and said, “Gwyn, are we not your friends?”
I immediately felt my face go beet red. I started laughing because, oh my gosh, I had just told my friends that I had no friends! Ha. The truth is, it wasn’t true. My friends were sitting all around me. We were eating meals together, worshipping together, sharing life, praying for one another. In many ways, the depth of friendship I was experiencing with them went beyond even some of the relationships I had back in Chicago.
We’ve met as a group for five years now, and so much life has happened. No matter how the group evolves or changes, they remain some of my closest friends. I’m grateful to have people to do life with—people who pour into me in ways that challenge and deepen my faith. We all have questions, and our group creates a safe space to ask them… preferably over a bowl of amazing, homemade hummus.
So, if you’re waiting for a nudge or hoping to find your people, can I ask: what are you waiting for?
Consider this your formal invitation to take a leap of faith and pursue a small group. And if there’s a professional chef in yours, even better. (I speak from experience.) You won’t regret gaining a few more friends.
© 2025 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Revised Edition). Westminster John Knox Press, 1976, p. 53.
** Daniel C. Arichea, Jr. and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. New York: United Bible Societies, 1976, p. 152.
