Bear One Another's Burdens Galatians 6:2 - Equipped for Battle

As Paul the apostle has been giving instructions to the church members in Galatia as to how they should conduct themselves toward others, we have been learning how we are to posture ourselves as well. We have learned that the manifestation of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit are possible within us, and as we are led and walk in the spirit we will love others even when they fail. In chapter six and verse two Paul expounds on the idea of helping others when he wrote:

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Paul begins, “Bear one another's burdens,...” The Greek word for “Bear” means to take up with the hands, to carry, uphold or support. It means that we are to come under another's load and help them with it. As we carry out the fruit of the Spirit and are led by Him, we will love others enough to get involved with their heaviness, weights, and troubles. In other words, when others have problems, we join them in carrying those problems. So often the normal reaction is that of the priest and Levi whom Jesus spoke of in the gospel of Luke in chapter ten and verses thirty through thirty-seven who simply passed by the man who was robbed. Jesus said this of a Samaritan in verse thirty-four:

And went to [him], and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

This was an splendid example of one who bore the burdens of another person.

There is a result to bearing other's burdens, “and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Jesus said in the gospel of Matthew in chapter twenty-two and verses thirty-seven through forty:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The Judaizers were attempting to make the Galatian church members return to following the law in order to be saved. Paul told them that if they would simply bear one another's burdens they would fulfill the law of Christ. When we help others with their problems and troubles, we have acted in the manner that Jesus spoke of when He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Have we noticed someone with a burden lately? What have we done to help them bear it? Have we put ourselves in the position to help them carry their load? Do we care only for our own burdens, or do we look for opportunities to help others with their troubles? Perhaps as we hear the exhortation of Paul in today's verse we will consider the benefit to bearing others burdens and in doing so, we will fulfill the law of Christ in our lives as well.

Next time we will see how we might be deceived about ourselves, so read ahead, and let us join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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