Jump Start # 3268

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Burden bearers, that’s what disciples are. They lighten the heavy load that others are carrying. It helps to know that others care. It helps knowing that you can lean upon others. They may not be able to fix what troubles you, but having a shoulder to cry upon, or to help you walk down the road is such a valuable blessing.

There are some things we need to know about bearing burdens:

First, some don’t want their burdens to go away. That may seem odd and almost impossible to believe, but it’s true. Some like to complain about their burdens. Some want an audience so they can tell all about their troubles, but if those burdens were removed, what would they talk about? What would they complain about? They may want you to feel sorry for them and they may want you to listen to their sad story over and over, but to offer suggestions, solutions and help, that they don’t want any part of. I have to admit that my tolerance and patience after a while runs really thin when people want to moan about how miserable their life is but they don’t want to do anything about it. The other day some was crying to me about how he hated his job. This has gone on for months. I told him to quit. Immediately he shot back, what would I do then? I told him, get another job, that’s what you do. I hear people saying, “I hate living here. I hate the traffic. I hate the weather.” Then, move. I hear, “I don’t like the church I’m going to. Don’t like the preaching. Don’t like the people.” Then leave. Find another congregation. But most times, nothing will change. They will stay in that job, that city, that church, and just feel miserable and complain. There are some burdens that you cannot bear because a person will not take his fingers off of them.

Second, there are some burdens that only God can fix. A sorrow. A prodigal. A hurt. We can support, be there, and be comfort, but the troubles may still remain. As disciples we are limited in what we can do. However, our presence, our compassion and our prayers can bring such comfort, even though the burden remains. It’s not a failure on our part that we could not remove the burden. Somethings only God can fix.

Third, burdens come in different flavors and in different fashions. Some are external, such as the loss of a job, financial troubles, a death. Some are health related. Some are more emotional and mental. A prodigal in the family. Grown kids that do not get along with parents. Some are spiritual, such as someone drifting away from the Lord. We are pretty good at wearing masks to hide these burdens from others. And, all of these burdens impact us in different ways. Some burdens last a long time. Realizing this helps us to be able to help others. It’s not our place to determine or measure how severe one’s burdens are. Is physical pain worse than emotional pain? Is the internal worse than the external? While I carry one burden, you may carry a different kind of burden. Is mine harder to deal with than yours? We don’t need to go there. To the person with the burden, it hurts. It consumes his mind and his energy. It’s hard for him to focus on other things.

Must one be free of burdens before he can help another with their burden? That would make a great question to kick around in a Bible class. I don’t believe one must be burden free in order to help another. While I hurt one way, I may be able to encourage you as you carry your own burden. And, as I do this, it often helps me with my own burden. Helping another many times leads to helping yourself.

This is the power and strength of fellowship. This is what is missing from internet worship and livestreaming from home. I can sing, listen to a sermon and pray, but what I miss is the interaction with others. This is why the Corinthians were told, “when you come together.” We need to be together. One can worship via the internet, but one cannot fellowship. It’s hard to bear one another’s burdens when we are apart and we are unaware of what others are going through.

Helping one another is one of the powerful aspects of the church. We do not journey alone. We have all around us those who are watching for us, caring for us, loving us, and supporting us. As the English group, The Hollies sang, “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.” Together we get through the toughest things. Together we lean upon each other. Together we march to Zion.

Bearing burdens…what a blessing that is.

Roger

Jump Start # 682

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Our passage today is among the many “one another” passages in the N.T. Paul is connecting the brethren together in ways that are meaningful and helpful.

• Restore one who is caught in a trespass (1)
• The one taught must share with the one who teaches (6)
• Do good to all people, especially those of the household of faith (10)

Burden bearers—what’s what we need to be among each other. Burdens are often and they come in many forms. Some have family burdens—the strains of raising children, the pressure of aging parents, the difficulties with prodigals. For others, it’s financial burdens—the loss of a job and the rising debt from health bills. For others, it is health burdens—failing health, the long days of not feeling well, the enormous costs of medical care. For some, it’s emotional burdens—worry, fear, loneliness, second guessing what you’ve done, regrets. The greatest of all is spiritual burdens—the differences of faith within family and friends, persecution, the guilt and shame of disappointing God, the difficulty in forgiving others and the extreme difficulty in forgiving self.

Burdens are very real. Those who do not have them currently, often have a hard time understanding why others do and they fail to grasp that they will go through the valley themselves.

Paul’s words are, “Bear one another’s burdens.” This statement leaves us with the idea of helping a person carry a heavy box. He is straining and stumbling. He’s about to go down. Along we come, and we help carry. We lift his load. We do not carry it all ourselves, lest we just trade places, and we then begin to strain and stumble. But together, two people, the load is manageable and easier to carry.

This concept brings a few thoughts to mind:

• We must be willing to share our lives and allow others to help. Some don’t do this. They would rather crumble under the heavy weight of what they are doing than ask for help. This independent, ‘I don’t need any help’ may work well in the movies, it doesn’t in life. This is not a sign of weakness nor the lack of faith. There are some things that are heavier than we are able to carry. Why hurt ourselves because of our pride. Ask for help. Seek others. Listen. Be willing to open up to others.

• We must be willing to be there for others. Burden bearing involves time and effort. It can be messy, because some of our lives are messy. Some will do this as long as it’s quick and easy, but most burdens are not this way. Some things have become burdens because of the way folks have handled them. They’ve made a mountain out of a mole hill and now there is a mountain to deal with. Our connections in the church are essential. People need to be able to count upon you. Often when people need you is not a convenient time. It will draw you away from the game on TV. It may require a Saturday, when you wanted to do things around the house. It may involve spending some money. It may require taking someone to the doctor. Lest we be careful, in helping others, they become our burden and they feel bad because we are doing things for them. The spirit of compassion is so important.

• Burdens can be carried by others, but our burdens must be dealt with by us. Others can be there. They can offer help. They can make the load lighter. They can offer all kinds of support. But they cannot take the burden away. We must give it to the Lord and we must carry our burden. I think some have the idea that when others offer help, that they will just take the burden and transfer it to them. Not so. Parenting, financial, health, emotional and even spiritual issues that belong to us remain ours. We must work on them and find Biblical answers to them. We cannot walk away from our problems. It’s not the responsibility of others to solve our problems. Some do not get this.

One final thought, it’s hard to help someone else carry their burden when we are maxed out carry our own. Doing too much…having too many commitments…the inability to say, ‘No,’ can weigh us down so much that we cannot be there for others. We all have burdens, yet some how the apostle wants us to help others bear their.

This is one of the benefits of fellowship and church. We are not alone. The journey with others has powerful benefits. It’s amazing to see other Christians helping each other.

How about you? Can others count upon you? Are you there for them? Give these words some thought.

Today, we are one day closer to Heaven.

Roger