Bear The Burden

I didn't realize it at the time this picture was taken but my friends and I just got done living out a biblical command. Can you guess which one it was?

As many of you know I am building a tiny home. I say I am building it but it's really more than just me. Many people have join the work crew to assemble this house for the homeless.

A week ago this past Wednesday, my friends and I put up the last wall of God's tiny home. The wall was more than I could lift all by myself. I estimate the wall weighed about 240 pounds. That's a lot of weight to maneuver around a job site but with three other guys my 240 pound load was suddenly only 60 pounds.

"² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2 

The Bible tells us to carry one another's burden. Basically, we are called to walk with someone for a short time who is undergoing a stressful situation or a trial of some kind. Maybe we listen to someone complain about their work schedule or pray with someone who is struggling. There are many people and circumstances in this world seeking burden bearers.

Some say, I don't want to get involved or I don't have time to do that. We send them a text telling them it will be alright or we will pray for them. That's no burden for us to do that and therefore not much good in the eyes of God.

Look at the example of these men. They gave up two hours of their day and probably drove 25-30 minutes to get to my house (both ways). They physically helped me bear MY burden - the wall.

Maybe it's a late-night call from a friend or taking someone Christmas shipping who has no car. Or maybe it's visiting someone in the hospital on a cold, snowy day. The point is if we don't help bear the burden, if it does not become a burden to us, it is no good to anybody.

I listened to Tim Keller the other night who drove home this point in a talk about Galatians 6. It made me think about "my preferences" vs "people's needs" and changed my way of looking at things.

This Christmas is the perfect time to bear one another's burdens. Become a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army. Bake someone some cookies and deliver them. Shovel someone's sidewalk for them. Take someone who's lonely out to dinner. Let's do some weight lifting!! It's a perfect "weigh" to show someone the love of Christ - who bore OUR burdens . . . on the cross. A burden we could not bear by ourselves.

Love someone today like Christ loves us. If we do, we will find it's not really the burden we thought it was, because Jesus is lifting with us.

Golden Slumbers - Carry That Weight - The End - The Beatles
Boasting In Nothing Except The Cross - Tim Keller