Carrying Each Other's Burdens

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

Note that the apostle indicates that carrying one another's burdens is the way by which the fundamental law of the Christian life is fulfilled. That law is the new commandment of Jesus: love one another (John 13:34). The law of love is fulfilled only by carrying one another's burdens. But how can we do that if we don't know what those burdens are? Some way of sharing these burdens with others is called for.

The New Testament lays heavy emphasis upon the need for Christians to know each other closely and intimately enough to be able to bear one another's burdens, confess faults one to another, encourage, exhort, and admonish one another, and minister to one another with the Word, song, and prayer. Koinoinia, true fellowship, calls for honesty and openness with other Christians, and a mutual recognition that it is neither abnormal nor unspiritual to have burdens and problems in our day-to-day Christian experience. The masks have to come off. The facades that say everything is all right when everything is anything but right have to fall. Often this can best be done in small groups meeting in homes, although the sharing of burdens and the experience of loving, non-judgmental acceptance and caring can take place in larger meetings, including worship services. Many people fear rejection or giving rise to scandal in such settings, yet body life can take place in safety, even in a gathering of a thousand people or more.

Carrying one another's burdens at the very least means to uphold one another in prayer. It also means to be willing to spend time with another person so that you can thoroughly understand that person's feelings and problems. It means committing yourself to an authentic effort to relieve that person's pressures or discouragement, offering intense prayer, practical help, or wise counsel, not just a superficial word of I'll pray for you.

Many Christians see other Christians in need and think, Well, that's what the welfare department is for, or, That's what unemployment insurance is for, or, That's why I pay taxes. But Christians should never transfer their biblical one another responsibilities to an unfeeling government program or bureaucracy. Help from government sources can be welcomed and utilized when needs arise, but none of these agencies is a substitute for genuine Christian caring, expressed through an act of love, an affirming embrace, a word of encouragement, or a time of prayer.

Lord, remind us to practice bearing each other's burdens, so that we can show the world what love looks like.