Galatians 6:1-2: Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted (NIV).
Empathy is harder for some of us than for others. Learning to be more empathetic with our children may require taking some time to remember what it was like when we were their age. Walking in their little shoes can help us understand why they do what they do. Sometimes we forget we were children once, too.
Interestingly we may find the things we struggled with at their age cause us the most anxiety in parenting. We may be frustrated when the same issues reappear in our children. This remembrance can have two outcomes – we can anxiously step in to fix the problem, which usually results in an overblown response that makes the situation worse. Or we can remember our experiences and use them to relate to our kids. God may be using your child’s struggles to sanctify both of you.
When your child’s struggle causes you extraordinary anxiety, be alert – God may be teaching both of you.
Is this the correct interpretation of 1 Corinthians 5:4 “gathered together”
He/she who has committed sin in a certain scenario (child birth out of wedlock) is to openly apologize to the church congregation.
Consultation and teaching on repentance and restoration undertaken by church leadership done prior to open apology. Restoration to follow open confession, if no open confession no restoration.
Kennith: The passage in 1 Corinthians was written because Paul had gotten word that the church there was not taking church discipline seriously and, as a result, the church body was being corrupted by open sin. Paul exercised his authority by requiring that the church leaders do what they should have done anyway, which was to exclude this individual from the community. Open sin and lack of repentance were the reasons for this extreme measure, but I think the passage is more about church discipline than it is about the method by which someone should repent, and the types of sins that require a church-wide confession. In the 1 Cor situation, everyone in the church knew about the sin and ignored or even condoned it. It was proper for the church to make an example of the sinner because it sent a message to everyone that there are consequences for open sin. They need to be gathered together for this to have its effect (by the way, the sin involved was far worse than a child out of wedlock).
In the case you describe, the goal would be repentance and restoration to the church body which may not require a church-wide confession. In fact, that might be more harmful than helpful if it resulted in shame and guilt and condemnation. Private meetings between the aggrieved parties, mediated by a church leader, may be enough. Love has to be the operative motive in any case.