“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 ESV
Reflect
What does it look like to truly enter into someone’s burden? I’ve been thinking on the importance of this for a few months and was thankful to hear my pastor reiterating what I’ve been mulling over in his recent sermon. We tend to want to stay arms length from pain–especially the pain of others. Either we’re scared we’ll say the wrong thing or give incorrect counsel, or we just don’t want to be burdened by another’s circumstance. But truly, neither of these are an excuse to withhold our helping hands from our dear sisters.
We must be willing to ask hard questions, show up when it’s inconvenient, wait alongside, pray fervently, and cry on behalf of one another. Bearing each other’s burdens is not an optional task; it’s a command. It’s how we show Jesus to the world. We need not be fearful of getting hurt. It will be hard, but praise God that Jesus didn’t withhold from bearing the pain of the cross due to the hardness of it. No, he entered in. He took on our sin and grief (Isaiah 53:4-6).
Following His example, we, too, must take the burdens of our sisters and place them on our shoulders. We are called to a life of inconvenience for the sake of others. We’re called to acknowledge their pain rather than tip toe around the difficulty of it. We are called to have hearts that are open to feeling deep pain over the trials of those around us. I’m praying for a heart like that. Join me?
Pray
Father, help me to be a Christ-like friend to those around me, especially those who are hurting. We are called to bear one another’s burdens; show me how to love like Christ has loved us. Amen.
Your Turn
Christine Hoover said in Messy Beautiful Friendship that “God isn’t afraid to enter brokenness, and we shouldn’t be either, because all we are really doing is bringing him into the situation anyway.” How can you be a friend like this to someone?
