Carrying Each Other

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

As Christians, we are called to carry each other's burdens. This doesn't necessarily mean that we are supposed to carry each others heavy luggage or help each other move (although those are very nice things to do). What Paul was telling the Galatians, and all of us two thousand years later, was that we are to be a support to each other. We are called to listen, to empathize and to help each other press on and through difficult circumstances.

We aren't necessarily trying to fix each other's lives or conversely wallowing in pity with someone; carrying each other's burdens means to be Christ to another person.

When Jesus met the woman at the well (John 4) he told her of all the wrong things she had done in her life, and yet he still showed her love, compassion and mercy. He forgave her sins - and then told her to go and sin no more. He did not accept the pit where the woman was living. Rather, he met her where she was and then showed her a way to get out of her pit.

As we are conduits of Jesus's love and grace to the world, we shoulder each other's burdens by empathizing with each other but also displaying the love of Christ by offering his grace as a solution.

We carry each other's burdens by sharing Christs love in all that we do.

The load isn't heavy, because Jesus is doing all of the heavy lifting.

Scripture

Galatians 6:1-10

Quote of the Day

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.
Samuel Smiles

Question of the Day

When have you been the hands and feet of Christ this week?

Comfort in His Arms...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

A daddy's arms...A mother's touch...A friends comfort...

Those are places of safety and peace. They draw visions of calm and serenity.

This is the vision Jesus offers to each of us when he calls, "Come to me..."

Come to me my princess; Come to me my prince; Come to me my daughter; Come to me my son...

Come to me - I will give you peace.

Come to me - I will give you strength.

Come to me - I will relieve your burden.

Come to me - I will love you.

Jesus wants to give you his comfort and his peace. We do not need to walk through this world alone. Our burdens are not individual - they are shared with the One who loved us enough to give up everything to be with us.

He is calling to you...Will you come?

Scripture

Matthew 11:27-29

Quote of the Day

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you."

Quote from Footprints in the Sand

Mary Stevenson

Crossing the Gorge

We all go through pain. We make mistakes - some big and some small - and through those mistakes we face heartache over our poor decisions. We want to go back - to start over - to begin again and wipe out the mistake - like it never happened.

Mistakes come in all shapes and sizes - lying, cheating, coveting, stealing, and so on and so on...

Some of those mistakes come at a price we feel is too high to pay.  But there are consequences for each of our actions - - some are good and some are painful - - but consequences always come with the decisions we make.. Ultimately, the mistakes which result from our choices are the sins in our lives - - but Jesus can build a bridge from our mistake to our salvation.

In Psalm 51, David - who was called 'one after God's own heart' - was suffering through the consequences of choices he made. Because of his desire for another woman, he caused the death of her husband and set his palace into turmoil. As he struggled with the mistakes of his choices and the consequences he suffered, he turned to God for comfort and healing, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)

David knew he made awful mistakes, that he sinned against God, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalm 51:4). He recognized the sin and went to God seeking redemption and forgiveness. He claimed his choices and asked God to release the burden from him.

And God did. Although David's life wasn't perfect, and he faced many trials and suffered the consequences for his actions, he found peace with God. God released him from the sin he had committed. He cleansed him.

 

Jesus can do the same thing for you and me. We all make mistakes - we all sin against God with our choices, our actions and our thoughts - but Jesus can release you from the burden of guilt which comes with those choices.

We stand on one side of the gorge and God and His peace are on the other. Sin - our choices which lead to mistakes - separate us from God, but Jesus, through his sacrifice, is the bridge for us to be reconciled with God. Jesus is the "hyssop" which cleans us. Jesus grants each of us the joy of salvation.

Many of us carry the heavy burden of guilt from our poor choices. Often the guilt is worse than the consequence we had to endure and the guilt perpetuates the pain of the sin. But Jesus can release you from that burden - - all you have to do is ask. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

The choice is always yours. You can choose to carry the burden of guilt from your past mistakes or you can choose to turn toward Jesus and allow him to, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7). And you will be forgiven.

Scripture:

Psalm 51

Fun Fact:

At more than 18,000 feet deep and 150 miles long, the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Tibet, China is regarded by some as the deepest canyon/gorge in the world, and is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon, making it one of the world's largest.

Question for the Day:

What is the coolest natural formation or preserve you have ever seen in person?