Walking Together
The past nine months has not been the best for my family. We have faced more than one trial, temptation, and tribulation. However, the past nine months has brought us closer together. When one person goes through a good experience, we celebrate together. When one person goes through a tough time, either to due his or her own choosing or due to something beyond his or her control, we go through it together.
Galatians 6:1-5 exhorts, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you may also be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you fulfill the Law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load" (NIV). To me, this lesson is the basis of a true family. We are to bear one another's burdens. We are to work gently to guide and teach. We are to lighten the load of others.
Just this morning, I contemplated this idea of fulfilling the law of Christ by how we deal with one another. We all know Jesus died for our sins. That is, He took our sins upon Himself. However, do we ever stop to think that means He set an example that is mentioned in these verses in Galatians? John 3:17 reminds us Jesus did not come to condemn. He came to save and to restore us to God. In the same way, when we bear one another's burdens, we restore. We do not condemn. We do not judge ourselves worthy and others unworthy. We do not compare our better selves to sinful others. We do not think ourselves something we are not. We can just as easily as others fall into temptation. We carry the burden of others for them. We are shown grace. We show the same grace.
This is a lesson we, as followers of Christ, should carry into the world every day. It should not stop with our families. It should not stop with those we love. We should not view ourselves as sinner-reformers. We should view ourselves as fallible people who make mistakes and, thus, can help carry the sometimes very different mistakes of others. Christ understood human frailty because He became a frail and tempted human. Let us seek humility.
Galatians 6:1-5 exhorts, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you may also be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you fulfill the Law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load" (NIV). To me, this lesson is the basis of a true family. We are to bear one another's burdens. We are to work gently to guide and teach. We are to lighten the load of others.
Just this morning, I contemplated this idea of fulfilling the law of Christ by how we deal with one another. We all know Jesus died for our sins. That is, He took our sins upon Himself. However, do we ever stop to think that means He set an example that is mentioned in these verses in Galatians? John 3:17 reminds us Jesus did not come to condemn. He came to save and to restore us to God. In the same way, when we bear one another's burdens, we restore. We do not condemn. We do not judge ourselves worthy and others unworthy. We do not compare our better selves to sinful others. We do not think ourselves something we are not. We can just as easily as others fall into temptation. We carry the burden of others for them. We are shown grace. We show the same grace.
This is a lesson we, as followers of Christ, should carry into the world every day. It should not stop with our families. It should not stop with those we love. We should not view ourselves as sinner-reformers. We should view ourselves as fallible people who make mistakes and, thus, can help carry the sometimes very different mistakes of others. Christ understood human frailty because He became a frail and tempted human. Let us seek humility.
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