Thursday: Lifting Each Other’s Load
Read: Galatians 6:1-10
SOAP: Galatians 6:2
Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Devotion:
Our relationship with God is not private. Sometimes we can tend to picture “me and Jesus against the world,” as if the only thing that really matters is our personal relationship with Christ. That relationship is incredibly important, but as Paul points out in Galatians 6:2, that personal relationship comes with some requirements: fulfilling the law of Christ. Jesus spent His years of earthly ministry teaching people about Himself and His Father, but He also spent a lot of time teaching people how to treat one another and how to live their lives. He came with ethical imperatives, including the one in this verse: carry one another’s burdens!
Our relationship with God should flow into the way we treat others, especially others in the family of God. We all have burdens to bear, whether it be suffering, loss, disappointment, frustration, or fear. Perhaps our greatest gift to one another may be our willingness to help carry the load. When we are tempted to despair, it is the comfort of our friends that can help us have faith. When we follow this command to carry each other’s burdens, we show that we believe what Jesus said and what He did: bearing the burden of sin on our behalf.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for bearing my greatest burden for me! Show me how to serve and comfort the suffering people in my life. Amen.