My beloved friends, if you see a believer who is overtaken with a fault, the one who is in the Spirit should seek to restore him in the Spirit of gentleness.

Galatians 6:1 (TPT)

When we learn to love and live well as a Christ-like community, there is a holy reluctance to give up on our prodigals. Our natural instinct is to ignore or dismiss them because we are afraid of further pain or betrayal. We tend to think and act in this manner because of the weight of our own frustration and lack of forgiveness.

Let us not close ourselves off from reaching out and helping those around us. 

Some may not appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity enough to express gratitude. Some may have taken advantage of your willingness to help. Some may even disparage you and blame you for not doing enough to help them.

An unforgiving spirit is incompatible with the gospel. If we remain unforgiving, unloving, and indifferent, we will do all kinds of resentful things that hurt ourselves and others.

Peter once asked Jesus, "How many times should I forgive before I stopped forgiving?" Jesus' simple answer was, "Never stop forgiving!" The conflicts and tensions of unforgiveness cannot be resolved until we learn to see and receive each other as God sees and receives us.

Love is the uniting and unifying essence that empowers our community to express itself in creative actions.  We are called to heal and restore each other. A dejected John Mark needs a reassuring Barnabas. A rejected Timothy needs a courageous Paul. A fallen child of God needs a loving community who cares for him or her with gentleness and kindness. 

The Apostle Paul encourages us to restore one another with a spirit of gentleness.

Believers often confuse gentleness with being nice. There are many so-called “nice” Christians. They appear to be very polite and pleasant when they are around you, but they never truly help you in growing to the full potential of your identity in Christ. It's a friendship for the sake of convenience. They want to get along with you without causing them any inconvenience. In a nutshell, it's a selfish and cruel friendship.

Gentleness is both the work and fruit of the Spirit. As a result, a gentle Christian is never a passive bystander. Rather, the true child of God thinks and acts in accordance with the Spirit's prompting in order to make a difference in the lives of others in need.