Unified Diversity

What does it mean to bear someone’s burdens? Some people think it means to take everyone’s problems and put them all on your shoulders, trying to fix things. That mindset is a dangerous one because you don’t need to have everyone’s burdens on your shoulders. That is too much for anyone except Jesus Himself to take on. That is why He died on the cross, to save us from the burdens of sin and all the brokenness it causes (Matthew 11:28-30).

So what does God mean when He tells us to “bear one another’s burdens†(Galatians 6:2)? He means we love others with the talents and opportunities He has given each of us. He doesn’t mean for us to take on the weight of every single person’s problems. He already knows that it is too much of a responsibility for us to have, so He wants us to cast our burdens on Him, because He is ultimately the only One who can take care of them (1 Peter 5:7).

Bearing burdens can look surprisingly simple. Sometimes all that is needed is a small act of kindness rooted in Jesus’ love for us: helping your parents clean the house if they’re too sick to do so, helping tutor your friend if they’re struggling in a subject at school, or going shopping for your elderly neighbor who needs food. Usually, bearing one another’s burdens looks like having a relationship with others and walking alongside them in their day-to-day life— placing ourselves in their shoes and putting up with them even when we have different backgrounds or opinions.

No matter how we serve, as Christians, we love because Jesus loved us first, reminding others of God’s presence and the promise that they can lay their burdens at Jesus’ feet (1 John 4:19). • Alexis Wohler

• When has someone helped bear your burdens?

• What are some practical ways you can help bear someone’s burdens and remind them to bring their burdens to the foot of the cross?

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (WEB)

Read Verses:

Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 12:38; Acts 2:1-12; Revelation 7:9-10