Supporting the Load

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

Galatians 6:2

 

It is interesting to look up the definition of common words.  Words like "carry", something that I'm sure most of us surely understanding the meaning of, but when you take a deeper look at what is meant by that word in the context of what Paul is saying in Galatians, it can provide us more meaning, leading to a fuller walk with Jesus.  To carry something means, to support the weight of something or someone, it also means to bear the full weight of something and transport it to another location, I think both aspects of those definitions are helpful.  When we talk about me and you carrying each other's burdens, what do we mean?  Coming from a background of substance abuse, I certainly am careful not to associate carrying someone's burdens with enabling.  We need to be careful when we read that we are supposed to carry the burdens of others.  Certainly, we aren't to support the load fully as to make someone completely depend on us, that would be unhealthy.  As a Christian carrying the burden of another Christian, it makes sense that the aspect that I am responsible for is to support the weight.  When we take on the weight of what other people are going through we meet them where they are.  What I mean by that is we are to try our best to empathize with what that particular person is going through, and offer support to what is weighing them down.  We can accomplish this by praying for them, listening to them, offering godly wise counsel where we see fit and lead, and sometimes just offering to sit with them can make all the difference.  The other aspect of carrying is to bear the full weight of something or someone and move it to another location.  This is Christ's job!  Our job in carrying the burden is support, and it's Jesus' job to bear the full weight of our burdens and move them somewhere else.  That somewhere else would be a place of peace and freedom, that only Christ can accomplish!  This is the heart of the gospel!  This is exactly what Jesus came to accomplish.  His perfect work on the cross became the full atonement for all of our burdens past, present, and future.  We could never bear the full weight of other's burdens, but we do have a responsibility to offer support, guidance, and help when and where we can.  We mimic Jesus, in that, we fulfill His law by this action of taking on burdens.  Jesus took on ALL the burdens, but we are like Him when we follow His example, by taking on other people's burdens and offering support.  I want to encourage you today, that now more than ever, so many of us are struggling with heavy burdens.  We each have our own burdens that we carry and need to give to the Lord, and yet as we care about others and have a heart like Christ, we want to help in their burdens.  Understand your role in the burden carrying, we offer support, and Christ bears the full weight!  If we get this backwards, whether it be in our own burdens or offering help with others we easily become exhausted, distracted, depressed, discouraged, and ultimately in despair.  And that is because we don't have the capacity to carry the full weight, only Jesus does.  But, we have the capacity to love each other by carrying burdens, offering support in a godly way to one another.  And in so doing, we "fulfill the law of Christ".  Today pray and ask the Lord to guide you in wisdom when offering support to others.  Give all of your burdens to Him today, and thank Him for the peace, freedom, and comfort you receive in return!  Love you all!  Praying for you and yours!  Have a blessed day, it's your choice!