“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”  (Galatians 2)

 

A Christ-ian should never fear being a burden to another Christ-ian.  If a Christ-ian ever makes another Christ-ian feel like a burden, the former is in the wrong and the latter is not.  It breaks this writer’s heart when/if a fellow believer feels like they are a burden to me.
Does the above sound nice and Christ-ian?  Let me be clear, the above while the spirit may be right the truth about burdens is not.  What do I mean?  Read our text again, we are told to bear one another’s burdens. Christ-ian, when you bring burdens to another believer you are being a burden, you are burdening them.  When you leave them you leave them burdened.

And that is how it is supposed to be.  The Christ-ian is to be a burden-bearer for others. The Christ-ian is a beast of burden for fellow Christ-ians and the lost as well. If a Christ-ians keeps from burdening another Christ-ian the former is denying the latter a blessing.  The right-minded Christ-ian looks to share the burdens of others.  Why?

We will give reasons why the Christ-ian is a burden-bearer:
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*The Christ-ian is commanded to bear the burdens of others in Scripture.
*No one else will bear the burdens of others if we do not…this should be our mindset, whether true or not.
*What is prayer if not burden-bearing?  Intercessory prayer is bearing the burdens for fellow Christ-ians and for those that cannot pray and will not be heard by God.
*Bearing the burdens of other’s should be natural for the Christ-ian because, “[Christ in] [H]is [O]wn [S]elf bare our sins in [H]is [O]wn [B]ody on the tree…”  (1 Peter 2)
*”Surely [H]e hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem [H]im stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  (Isaiah 53)
*”[T]he LORD hath laid on [H]im the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53)
*When we bear the burdens of one another, we are Christ-like.

How do we bear the burdens of others?
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*Know that you are fulfilling Christ’s law when you bear another’s burden.  What is His law?  Love your neighbor as yourself.
*Paul tells us in Roman 12 to “weep with them that weep and rejoice with them that rejoice.”  One can bear the burdens of others by simply being present and listening and hearing; hearing and listening.  Sometimes the one who is most burdened wants someone near them but wants silence as well.
*Sound, Biblical counsel is another means of burden-bearing. Make certain that the hurting one is ready for counsel, do not force-feed.  Also make certain your counsel is Bible-based, sound, and true.  Do not give a bunch of opinions, including yours.
*Intercessory prayer when you are alone and prayer with the hurting when you are present.
*Ask the burdened and hurting if they want you to call them or should you wait for their call. Agree on a day that you will (DV) call them if they do not call you.  Bearing one another’s burden(s) is a pro-active ministry and art.
*Be available 25/8. If a call comes at night, sound awake and ready to bear a burden and thank them for thinking of you.
*Know when to back off.  Sometimes one can overdue it and that is not helpful, when this happens you have become an additional burden to the already burdens and hurting. Listen to your instincts, that is a place the Spirit dwells.
*Be flexable and useful.
*If there are other care-givers present, do not make burden-bearing a contest.  Let the other person provide care.  Pay attention to what the other care giver is doing though.  Do not allow a well meaning person to send the hurting and burdened in the wrong direction.

Very Important Information:
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PRAY, ALWAYS PRAY, NEVER EVER NOT PRAY when you are helping another bear their burden and remember it is their burden, it is very real to them, you know not how they feel, even if you have experienced something similar or even experienced the same burden.  We are all wired differently by our Maker. We feel all things differently. We might agree on things, we may see things in a similar way, but our feelings are our feelings. Two (2) persons may be angry or sad or whatever at the same thing and at the same time, but they feel that anger and sadness or whatever differently.  Only God knows our feelings intimately. Only God can know our heart perfectly and that is why we must always turn to God for His guidance and counsel before we seek to guide or counsel another.
Never, ever be condescending to someone you are seeking to help.  Never, “I know all about this” to someone because you don’t

The golden rule applies here as it applies to all other situations.  “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.”