bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. [galatians 6:2]
acknowledging burdens in the body
throughout the new testament, the church is described as a body. as established by Jesus, the church is not just a loosely affiliated group of people who gather together every now and then for calendar events, but a single, coherent unit that moves and acts as one. as a body, it only makes sense that we would work to bear one another’s burdens.
i was recently working in the yard and managed to get something in my eye. immediately, i stopped what i was doing and focused on getting it out and making sure there was no serious damage! appropriately, without any resistance, my entire body shifted focus to the eye pain, and this became the primary motivation for the next few minutes.
bearing burdens in the body
when we think of the church in this way, we see that it would be silly for a hand to say, “the eye is not my problem, i have real work to do. let the eye take care of itself, and I’ll help later on if the eye needs it”. just as our entire body focuses on the immediate need, the immediate burden, so should we as a church body be quick to set aside our needs and wants to bear each other’s burdens.
psalm 55:22 instructs us to “cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you”. as we bear burdens in the body, we reflect Christ, and we ultimately cast our cares on Him as we encourage and strengthen one another.
~ jason soroski