“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, ESV)
Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to correct some problems in the Christian churches in that part of the world. Paul founded these churches in Galatia. He loved these people. He wanted their faith to thrive. Instead, some of those churches struggled, because the people were failing to faithfully live out the gospel. So, Galatians is filled with Paul’s understanding of the gospel and how to correct spiritual problems among the faithful in that part of Asia Minor.
Our scripture for today is short. It’s made up of only a few words. It is to the point. Despite its small size, this scripture was written to correct one of those big problems in the Galatian church community. The problem was that people in the churches were better at standing back and criticizing others than shouldering each other’s burdens. They took sides in religious debates about circumcision rather than coming together to work through theological issues. When persecution raised its ugly head, the people were apt to hunker down and separate from one another instead of rally around each other. Paul believed that the gospel should bring people together instead of rip people apart. When problems, trials, and obstacles appeared, the people should “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Paul called this sharing of burdens a “law of Christ”. Paul did not see helping others of the faith as optional. It was intrinsic to following Jesus.
A church in Texas was newly built on the edge of a booming metropolis in the 1970’s. Its prospects were bright. The leaders of that church thought that the city was going to expand toward that church and the church would grow by leaps and bounds as the urban area sprawled westward. In fact, that did happen through the 1970’s and 1980’s. With that growth, however, came problems. The church outgrew its sanctuary. The Sunday School classrooms became cramped. Just twenty years after their building was erected, the leaders had drawn up new architectural plans to increase its size. A Building Fund was initiated, and several million dollars collected over five years. Then, a series of problems enveloped the community. Two big companies moved out of the area. A recession took hold. Families were uprooted. People were laid off work.
Just when construction was to begin on the new addition to the church, some leaders got together to make plans. With dozens of families in their parish hurting financially, the leaders began to reevaluate if they should begin construction. One Sunday, a member of the church stood up to ask that the church use some of the Building Fund money to help ease the burden of the hurting families. A leader in charge of the building fund got up and said, “We can’t use those funds for helping families. They were ear-marked for a building addition. You can’t spend money ear-marked for building on these families.” Fights and arguments broke out in the church. Some sided with the leader. Some wanted the church to help hurting families. A few families pulled out of the church in the ensuing weeks, upset at the infighting. One group in the church called the pastors hard-hearted. Others complained that they wanted their money to be put toward the building, not toward a “handout”.
Just when everything was falling apart, a pastor received some inspiration. He stood among the leaders and proposed that they stop the building program and begin a people program. He asked that the church raise funds to help needy families in the church. In just two months, the church raised thousands of dollars. Leaders organized members to get groceries and arrange emergency financial help for the needy. People got more excited about helping other members in the church than they ever got excited about building an addition to the church building. Within five years, church attendance doubled. They had to go back to the drawing board and plan for an even larger addition to the church! The pastor who had initiated the mission program to help needy families remarked to a family member, “I think the church has learned that a church building is no good without loving people of God caring for each other. That’s what grows churches.”
Nowhere in scripture does the Apostle Paul ever say that a “law of Christ” is to build church buildings. However, today’s scripture makes absolutely clear that bearing each other’s burdens IS CERTAINLY a law of Christ! When church people become more enamored with buildings that they do with sharing, the gospel message gets lost and people become divided.
When Jesus was walking the earth, he didn’t get caught up building church edifices and cathedrals. He didn’t advocate for monuments and statues. His motivation was the saving of souls. Buildings and programs only came as a bonus. They weren’t the core of faith. They weren’t a “law of Christ”.
True Christians are dedicated to bear the burdens of others. When Jesus enters your heart and soul, your love of others increases. You are imbued with a desire to help shoulder the burdens of others. You instinctively desire to help the homeless, feed the hungry, visit the sick, and care for the hurting. If you find yourself not feeling these desires, there’s probably something wrong in your soul. Something has clouded your understanding of the gospel message.
When was the last time you helped bear the burdens of another? It doesn’t even cost money to pray for another soul or take a detour to visit a shut-in. You’d be surprised at the spiritual blessings that come with helping another to bear the weight of a burden.
To end today’s meditation, I want you to remember a young girl named Stephanie. A few months after her grandmother (“Nana”, she called her) died, Stephanie was not looking forward to Christmas. The family always met at “Nana’s” house. Nana always made Christmas special with warm cookies, Christmas carols playing over the radio, and so much more. While moping during early December, young Stephanie heard about a woman in her church who was blind. Stephanie was told that all the blind woman wanted was to have someone read her the nativity story from the old family Bible. Stephanie’s young heart filled with a desire to fulfill the blind woman’s request. With her mother’s help, Stephanie arranged everything with the nursing home. Two days later, they went to the blind woman’s room, took out the old Bible, and young Stephanie began to read the Christmas story. The blind woman was overjoyed. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she listened intently. By the end of the reading, half a dozen residents crowded inside the room and at the doorway to listen. Everybody shed a few tears of joy. Stephanie was so excited at the response, she visited every shut-in from their church, reading the Christmas story. On Christmas Eve, she told her mother that it was her “best Christmas ever”!
Who might benefit from your helping to bear a burden? What soul has been weighed down with pain that you might help shoulder? Sometimes, the best way to have “the best spiritual uplifting ever” is to share someone’s burden for just a while, uplifting a soul that is heavy with grief.
Our scripture for today is short. It’s made up of only a few words. It is to the point. Despite its small size, this scripture was written to correct one of those big problems in the Galatian church community. The problem was that people in the churches were better at standing back and criticizing others than shouldering each other’s burdens. They took sides in religious debates about circumcision rather than coming together to work through theological issues. When persecution raised its ugly head, the people were apt to hunker down and separate from one another instead of rally around each other. Paul believed that the gospel should bring people together instead of rip people apart. When problems, trials, and obstacles appeared, the people should “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Paul called this sharing of burdens a “law of Christ”. Paul did not see helping others of the faith as optional. It was intrinsic to following Jesus.
A church in Texas was newly built on the edge of a booming metropolis in the 1970’s. Its prospects were bright. The leaders of that church thought that the city was going to expand toward that church and the church would grow by leaps and bounds as the urban area sprawled westward. In fact, that did happen through the 1970’s and 1980’s. With that growth, however, came problems. The church outgrew its sanctuary. The Sunday School classrooms became cramped. Just twenty years after their building was erected, the leaders had drawn up new architectural plans to increase its size. A Building Fund was initiated, and several million dollars collected over five years. Then, a series of problems enveloped the community. Two big companies moved out of the area. A recession took hold. Families were uprooted. People were laid off work.
Just when construction was to begin on the new addition to the church, some leaders got together to make plans. With dozens of families in their parish hurting financially, the leaders began to reevaluate if they should begin construction. One Sunday, a member of the church stood up to ask that the church use some of the Building Fund money to help ease the burden of the hurting families. A leader in charge of the building fund got up and said, “We can’t use those funds for helping families. They were ear-marked for a building addition. You can’t spend money ear-marked for building on these families.” Fights and arguments broke out in the church. Some sided with the leader. Some wanted the church to help hurting families. A few families pulled out of the church in the ensuing weeks, upset at the infighting. One group in the church called the pastors hard-hearted. Others complained that they wanted their money to be put toward the building, not toward a “handout”.
Just when everything was falling apart, a pastor received some inspiration. He stood among the leaders and proposed that they stop the building program and begin a people program. He asked that the church raise funds to help needy families in the church. In just two months, the church raised thousands of dollars. Leaders organized members to get groceries and arrange emergency financial help for the needy. People got more excited about helping other members in the church than they ever got excited about building an addition to the church building. Within five years, church attendance doubled. They had to go back to the drawing board and plan for an even larger addition to the church! The pastor who had initiated the mission program to help needy families remarked to a family member, “I think the church has learned that a church building is no good without loving people of God caring for each other. That’s what grows churches.”
Nowhere in scripture does the Apostle Paul ever say that a “law of Christ” is to build church buildings. However, today’s scripture makes absolutely clear that bearing each other’s burdens IS CERTAINLY a law of Christ! When church people become more enamored with buildings that they do with sharing, the gospel message gets lost and people become divided.
When Jesus was walking the earth, he didn’t get caught up building church edifices and cathedrals. He didn’t advocate for monuments and statues. His motivation was the saving of souls. Buildings and programs only came as a bonus. They weren’t the core of faith. They weren’t a “law of Christ”.
True Christians are dedicated to bear the burdens of others. When Jesus enters your heart and soul, your love of others increases. You are imbued with a desire to help shoulder the burdens of others. You instinctively desire to help the homeless, feed the hungry, visit the sick, and care for the hurting. If you find yourself not feeling these desires, there’s probably something wrong in your soul. Something has clouded your understanding of the gospel message.
When was the last time you helped bear the burdens of another? It doesn’t even cost money to pray for another soul or take a detour to visit a shut-in. You’d be surprised at the spiritual blessings that come with helping another to bear the weight of a burden.
To end today’s meditation, I want you to remember a young girl named Stephanie. A few months after her grandmother (“Nana”, she called her) died, Stephanie was not looking forward to Christmas. The family always met at “Nana’s” house. Nana always made Christmas special with warm cookies, Christmas carols playing over the radio, and so much more. While moping during early December, young Stephanie heard about a woman in her church who was blind. Stephanie was told that all the blind woman wanted was to have someone read her the nativity story from the old family Bible. Stephanie’s young heart filled with a desire to fulfill the blind woman’s request. With her mother’s help, Stephanie arranged everything with the nursing home. Two days later, they went to the blind woman’s room, took out the old Bible, and young Stephanie began to read the Christmas story. The blind woman was overjoyed. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she listened intently. By the end of the reading, half a dozen residents crowded inside the room and at the doorway to listen. Everybody shed a few tears of joy. Stephanie was so excited at the response, she visited every shut-in from their church, reading the Christmas story. On Christmas Eve, she told her mother that it was her “best Christmas ever”!
Who might benefit from your helping to bear a burden? What soul has been weighed down with pain that you might help shoulder? Sometimes, the best way to have “the best spiritual uplifting ever” is to share someone’s burden for just a while, uplifting a soul that is heavy with grief.