Seriously? Go after him?

2 Corinthians 2:5-8 (NLT)

⁵ I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. ⁶ Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. ⁷ Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement.⁸ So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.

I am struck by Paul's exhortation in this passage to the Corinthian church to restore their brother in Christ. Likely, this is a reference to the man from 1 Corinthians 5 whom Paul instructed the church to remove from their fellowship because of sexual sin. Now, Paul believes the man has suffered enough punishment and they should go back to the man, give forgiveness, and comfort him lest he be overcome by discouragement. I'll be honest with you, I read this and thought, "Seriously? First, you say, put him out, now go get him back?" Friend, this is hard. Will you ask yourself these questions? Is there someone with whom I need to seek restoration? Did sin cause division between us? Is my Lord asking me to reconnect with them? Romans 3:23 is clear, "We all sin and fall short of God's glory." We all stumble and struggle with weaknesses. Is there someone you know who has become disconnected because of their sin? Maybe they were ashamed and distanced themselves...would you be willing to reach out to bring them back into fellowship with other believers? I know you are probably thinking, "If I start hanging out with them, what is everyone going to think of me?" Maybe a better thought is, "What will my Lord think of me?" We think of things like sexual sins as the really big sins, but what about the friend who was embarrassed when someone pointed out she was gossiping? Will you go to her? I know this is tough stuff to think about. Do you remember that peace that flooded over you the last time you took the hard steps in obedience to your Lord? It's waiting for you...go after it!