Galatians 6:1-5
Every person has a burden to bear in life. Don’t think just because someone’s life looks perfect on Facebook that they aren’t carrying something heavy. Many people hide their burdens, thinking those are things that shouldn’t be shared, so they put on a fake smile and a happy face and carry on.
Burdens take many forms: financial struggles, family fallouts and grudges, health problems nagging at the back of your mind. You never really know what some folks may be going through. The Scripture here states that every person has to bear their own burden, and we should do our best to rejoice in the carrying and do it in a Christian way.
Sometimes, though, you can’t make it all the way on your own. Sometimes we need help. When we’re little, it’s often our parents who bear our burdens. In a great marriage, a husband or wife can help with the burdens of life. My wife has always lifted me and urged me onward when I had those moments of despair and felt weighed down by life.
But this is where the Body of Christ comes in, the church. A church is uniquely organized and equipped for helping one another with the heaviness of life. We have to have eyes of compassion that see when people are weighed down and need some help. And then we have to be willing to step in and be a burden-bearer.
When we are willing to carry burdens for one another, it’s a blessing to both the giver and receiver, and it also glorifies God. The Scripture says here in V.2 that when we bear burdens for others, it fulfills the law of Christ. When you do that, you are truly loving your neighbor as yourself.
1 Peter 2:21-25
The burden of sin is the worst of them all. I pray you aren’t still carrying around the load of your past on your back today. I am no longer carrying mine. I have received the ultimate help from the ultimate Lord. For Jesus has bore my burden to Calvary, to the cross.
He bore our sins when he had no sin. It was a burden none of us could possibly carry. You can’t save yourself because the weight of sin is enormous. You can’t undo your sins by doing enough good deeds to outweigh them. You need the burden bearer, the strongest back in the universe, the Lord Jesus himself to remove your sins. The good news is, he has already carried it to the cross, but each person must accept the free gift of salvation that he offers.
If you are a Christian, don’t ever be hesitant to jump in there and get your hands dirty helping someone, because you are being just like your Savior Jesus when you do that. We are called to reflect the character and love of Christ in this world, and that is a fine way to do it. Look around today and see whether you can find a burdened person to help.
