“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
— Galatians 6:2
I was texting with one of our friends yesterday. She finds herself
in a situation that we all have or will face – helping an elderly parent. During the course of our conversation, I was
reminded of Galatians 6:2. What she is
doing is an example of what Paul was exhorting the Galatians to do, and through
Paul by the Spirit, what the Lord is exhorting all Christians to do.
I told her that bearing burdens always requires the one picking up
the load to sacrifice something or several somethings. Whether you do it or not
– bear someone else’s burden can be viewed as a privilege or a problem – an
inconvenience. A privilege because we are given an opportunity to show Jesus to
someone, by what we do.
“Then the righteous will answer Him,
saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You
drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will
answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one
of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” – Matthew
25:37-40
Or we can see it as a problem.
Helping people is always invasive on our lives. It may require us to not do something that we
prefer to do, plan to do, hope to do for the sake of another person. And what if they don’t appreciate it? Well, lack of appreciation is not our problem,
but it can be a stumbling block for those with the wrong heart attitude. When we serve others, we are serving the
Lord.
“Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing,
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain
priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other
side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and
passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal,
brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed,
he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take
care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’
So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the
thieves? And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go
and do likewise.”” – Luke 10:30-37
Both the priest and the Levite, men you would expect to want to express
the love of God toward others saw the man in the ditch as a problem – they were
too busy to be bothered. The one who helped was one with no obligation to the
man in the ditch, but he went out of his way to help him – a significant personal
expense.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life
for his friends.” – John 15:13
Then Jesus said to [us], “Go and do likewise.”
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