Galatians 6:2 Burdens
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

Galatians 6:2 New King James Version

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

As Christians, we go through many seasons of darkness.  During these seasons we become a vulnerable target for the enemy as he relentlessly pursues us with assaults. These assaults are encased in the form of lies and deceptions.  Inevitably, it depletes us of our strength and desire to fight and we fall into despair.  Still, God is there.  Sometimes He comes with His powerful presence that strengthens us and gives us a fresh view of the situation and many times He comes through in the heart of a friend who stands in our corner to fight for us in prayer and support.  Sometimes we need another body whom we can see and feel.     

When we go through our trials, it is very easy to feel alone and abandoned because no one can go through them for us.  But to have someone there with encouraging words to inspire us to take another step is valuable beyond measure.  They may not share the pain we feel, but their presence uplifts our hearts and hope is regained.

These people who unselfishly offer themselves in the midst of someone else’s storm, are those who understand God’s love and in their obedience to do what God has called us to do, they sow the seeds of God’s goodness into others’ lives.

Galatians 5:14 (NLV)  

14. You obey the whole Law when you do this one thing, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

God knows exactly who to send into our times of need and He knows when to send them.  My friend and I jokingly refer to each other as Frodo and Samwise, the two committed friends in “The Lord of the Rings,” because no matter what the situation, no matter how bad it got, their friendship withstood the many battles they fought and the longsuffering they went through.  If Samwise had not been there for Frodo, Frodo may not have completed his purpose on earth.

It takes many hurdles to develop the muscles of friendship.  Carrying another’s burden is a long lasting endeavor that requires many acts of encouragement, prayer and checking up on the person.  Jesus’ ministry was relational. And although He ministered to thousands while on earth, He spent every day with a select few. God is about relationship not just ministry.  Our busy days and ministering to others cannot take precedent over us developing intimate and long lasting relationships.  We must see that carrying another’s burden is not a one-time thing, but something that will take our time and energy and investment.  Too many believers are suffering from loneliness.  They don’t want to be ministered to, they just want someone to walk with them through the hard times.

Challenge: My prayer is that we stop allowing time, ministry and busy-ness to dictate our direction but choose to be relational and allow our hearts to become close and intimate with others so that we can share in their story and in their burdens.  

God bless

Marni

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.