“ Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”–Galatians 6:2.
For those of you with older or adult children, you’ve likely had your share of ‘moving experiences.’ You’ve moved them off to college. Then, they moved out of the dorm into an apartment off campus. Then another move to yet another apartment. And then after graduation, a move back home, or off to a new city or town where they were employed. And when your children marry, there is another move, and another, and another. And that’s the way it is. It’s part and parcel of raising our children.
I remember one particular move of ours. Our son Joe was changing apartments when he was a student at Auburn. I went down to help him in a rental truck, and it would just be the two of us making the move. The new apartment was on the third floor of a nearby complex, and the only access to the unit was up a narrow, twisting staircase (clearly not designed for moves!).
Joe had a very large and unusually heavy sofa. It was mid-August with a heat index in the triple digits. About half way into the long and miserable day of lugging stuff up to the third floor, it was time to take that sofa up the staircase into the new apartment. Since the stairs were so narrow, the only way up was for us to hold the sofa above our heads while walking up the twisting, sharply angular steps. It was, in a word, awful!
I can’t remember how long it took to finally make it up to the third floor. It’s all a blur to me now as it was then. There were many times we had to stop and rest the sofa on the rails just so we could get an uninhibited breath. There were many moments when I honestly thought that I would pass out. The heat and humidity were unbearable, and the weight of the sofa strained every muscle and joint in my body to the breaking point. The same with Joe. But, somehow we made it. And when the sofa was finally in the right place inside the apartment, we just laid down on the floor under the ceiling fan for the longest time.
As excruciating as that move proved to be, something wonderful happened that we could have never anticipated! There was a very unique bond created that remains a treasure, even to this day now many years later.
Without fail, whenever Joe and I start talking about his years at Auburn that one move on that hot August day comes to the surface in our conversation. It usually goes like this: ‘Remember when we moved that big sofa up the stairs and nearly died? Remember how hot it was? How we collapsed at the top? How we went out that night and ordered the biggest steak dinner we could find, just to celebrate our survival? Remember how sore we were the next day?’
Looking back, it was one of the most special moments we have ever shared together! And despite its profound difficulty, it was, oddly enough, a moment of supreme joy!
Well, in the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul speaks of heavy weights. But these are not physical. They are much heavier than that! They are the spiritual burdens that we all bear as brothers and sisters in Christ. They are the burdens of fear, of our war with sin, of doubting, of facing anxiety and despair, of dealing with the unknown, of unanswered prayers, of opposition from the world, and constant temptation.
The inspired Apostle of Christ tells us here, however, that we are not to be concerned simply about our own burdens, as many and varied as they surely are, but we are also to bear those of our fellow-believers. This is one of the great secrets to the beauty and glory of the Church!
All across our world right now, there are believers in Christ like us, united in local congregations by Baptism and by sacred vows of membership. They not only carry their own heavy loads, but those of others whom they love, whom they worship with, and stand together with under the blood of the Savior which has cleansed their sin and justified them before the Father. I think especially about one of the five Membership Vows that we all took when we joined our Church:
“ I promise to support this Church in its worship and work to the best of my ability.”
Here is our spoken promise to bear (“to support”) the burdens of each member. This is our pledge before God that we will not allow even one believer in our fellowship to walk alone under any weight. It is our promise before our Father that we will fervently love the Bride of His Son, and will never abandon her, especially when she is called to walk though times of great adversity and trial. And because we meant business when we spoke those vows, we will indeed carry each other’s burdens and remain lovingly committed to one another come what may!
My encouragement to you today is just this: For those who are under a heavy load right now, remember that there are others who want to help you carry it. You were not designed to do this by yourself. You were never intended to bear your load in secret or in silence. This is why you have been called to Christ’s Body, to His family, His Church. And no matter what your burden may be, there are brothers and sisters in Christ who are here to help you and who will never leave you, no matter how heavy your load.
Then, for all those faithful believers who will remain committed to Christ and His Church and will lift up the burdens of others, a special joy awaits you! We are never more like our beloved Lord than when we give ourselves away in loving service and sacrifice to each other! As Jesus put it, it is only as we give our lives away that we find them. It’s as if He designed us to find our joy only in expending our lives for others.
Is there someone whose burden you can help carry? Who in our flock needs a call from you? Who needs a letter? Who needs the assurance of your prayers? Who needs your faithful love today?
May our Lord grant each of you His joy and peace as we stand together in His great mercy!
I love you all more than I could ever express in mere words,
Mike