None of us want to be a burden. There is nothing worse than feeling like you are dragging someone else down and holding them back….well, perhaps one thing – having someone else drag you down and hold you back!
And yet the people of God are called to be a people who carry each other burdens.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6 v 2
The reality is that we are a burden to one another, and that is ok. God did not create us to be sufficient on our own – we were created by a God of community, for community, by a God of relationship for relationship. And therefore, we need each other, and we need to help each other with the burdens of life.
Now don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean the church is the place for all the free-loaders out there to come and get an easy ride! Our call is to love one another, and love includes helping each other to carry the responsibilities that God has given us.
A few verses later Paul writes…
“For each will have to bear his own load.” Galatians 6 v 5
Surely Paul is contradicting himself here, how can we bear another’s burden and still encourage them to bear their own load? Cloud and Townsend in their book Boundaries explains…
“Part of growing up is learning what we are responsible for and what we need the help of others on. Galatians 6 teaches a paradox: ‘Each one should carry his own load’(v.5), but ‘carry each other’s burdens’ (v.2). At first glance, it appears that we are to solve our problems and everyone else’s! For some of us, this is how our life seems. But the Bible really doesn’t teach that. The Greek words explain the difference. As we say in the book Boundaries, the ‘burdens’ that we should bear for one another are the overwhelming ‘boulders’ in life, such as financial, medical, or emotional crises. The ‘loads’ that we need to carry ourselves are ‘knapsacks’ – that is, the normal responsibilities of working, going to school, and fulfilling duties to our friends, family and church.”
Could you imagine a group of people who relished in carrying one another’s burdens? Could you imagine a place where you could genuinely share your pain, struggles, fears, and difficulties? Could you imagine a group of people where you were loved enough to be taught to carry your own load, and yet supported in carrying your boulders?
For some of us this will mean learning to help others more, for some of us it will mean learning to be helped by others more. We were created for relationship, we were created for community, we are called to be a people who lovingly and willingly say ‘let me carry your burden.’.
– Tim Barton