In Matthew, Jesus called those who were weary and heavy laden to come to Him for rest. In Galatians we are called to bear one another's burdens. How do we do this? How do we lay our own burdens upon Jesus and yet humbly take up one another's burdens? It all begins and ends with prayer.
Jesus is calling us to come to Him for rest because He knows that we today, just like those people 2000 years ago, will try to do it all ourselves. Our pride gets in our own way and we don't want to ask anyone else for help. We have convinced ourselves that we will be the one person who can hold it all together and have a perfect, or nearly perfect, life in our own strength. Oh friend, stop believing that lie. The ONLY ONE who can hold it all together is the ONLY ONE who led a perfect life - Jesus! Because He loves us so much that He died for us, He knows that we also need help with the daily living. He took our place in death, and now He wants to BE our place in life. When your life is focused upon Jesus, amazing things happen!
One of the most amazing things about laying down your burdens and allowing Jesus to carry then for you is that then you realize you have time, space, and strength to help others carry their burdens and lay those at Jesus' feet too. We take up the burden of a hurt friend, a sick loved one, or a homeless person we meet in the park because we know how much our own lives changed when Jesus took our burdens. We begin by praying for that other person, and then we listen to see if God wants to use us as His hands and feet to help them physically as well. Maybe you offer to drive your friend to their Dr appointment, or make a meal for your sick neighbor. Perhaps God calls you to give a meal to the homeless person, or direct them to the local shelter where you volunteer.
Bearing one another's burdens is what we do as Christians. It is what we were made to do. The world sees what we do and knows it is spurred on by love, for no one would do it otherwise. The world knows we are His because of our love for one another. Put down your own burdens and carry someone to God in prayer today.
“The ONLY ONEwho can hold it all together is the ONLY ONE who led a perfect life— Jesus” Amen! Thank you for sharing practical ways we can carry burdens for others.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of wisdom packed into this blogpost! It's funny you would put this sentence in: "When your life is focused upon Jesus, amazing things happen!" because just yesterday I was studying Hebrews 12:2, which tells us in various translations to fix our eyes upon Jesus. It means determining to keep looking on Him, and not looking anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI also like your ending where your remind us that serving one another is really because of our love for one another and then the world would know we are His.
Great job!