Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 NIV
As a psychotherapist for 15 years, I learned early on the difference between carrying the burdens of others and letting them carry their own loads (Gal 5)
Buildings have walls that carry some weight of the roof but aren’t critical to the task as are load-bearing walls, without which, the structure would collapse.
Likewise, helping someone through a crisis eases their burden when we help bear some of their weight but acknowledge the load-bearing is theirs alone to carry.
People would ask me how I could hear such tragic stories in my therapy office all day and still sleep at night.
This burdens vs loads analogy was key to maintaining my own mental health while still being a helper to my patients.
If you find yourself all consumed when helping a friend through their troubles, knowing which of their weight-bearing walls are within your purview and capacity to carry and which are not might make all the difference for you to continue being an effective helper for someone who deserves a break.
People are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have a zeal for them.
Galatians 4:17 NIV
Belief and faith central to Christianity, it comes as no surprise that strategies formed against us are to obscure truth, to plant seeds of doubt, and to take what is clearly evident and gaslight us to the contrary.
It’s actually a brilliant strategy, for to sow such confusion then reinforce it through media channels, and authorities over us, their win is staged to convert what was once truth to a lie.
“Conspiracy theories” and unanswered questions which might otherwise lead to rediscovery of those truths become self-refuting and ridiculous.
To avoid such ridicule, the masses are lulled into consent to believe against what they’d once considered a much better judgment.
Winning you over, alienating you, and converting your zeal away from Christ to another gospel is the dastardly insidious plan in action.
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, the almighty Wizard of Oz has spoken!”
Hold fast to Truth revealed by the One who is truly the Almighty.
The fight for your confidence has only begun.
Don’t be the victim of:
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised
Each of us has that one teacher who showed us the valuable difference between just going to school and loving the idea of education itself.
That one who taught us excellence over mediocrity, passion over passivity and the fine art of learning how to learn for ourselves instead of regurgitating another someone’s thoughts and convictions.
One who soothed our painful rejections at the hands of bullies, listened after hours to our deepest revelations, and was in the front row of every event to cheer us on to victory.
One who after our school days were over when life learning was just beginning, kept in touch with us and sent invitations to their own family dinners as if you always belonged at their table and insisted you call them by their first name as awkward as it seemed.
Much older now with faded memories and my own eternity in sight by pure serendipity, mine came back into my life once again, and again I was that student thankful for so many differences she made in my life that she will never fully understand but for which she is fully responsible.
And now the most sincere words I can muster are thank you, Mrs. Nimmo. May God give you the rest you have earned.
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.
Galatians 2:10 NIV
Cultures throughout history all consist of the haves and the have nots.
The best measures of our humanity and civility are found in how we provide for needs of others who are truly unable to adequately provide for themselves.
We are indeed our brother’s keepers (Gen 4) and the poor will always be with us (Matt 26.)
But poverty is no badge worn as an excuse for laziness.
No matter the extent of their lack, the have nots are always able to contribute something in return if not for the common good then for their own sense of belonging to and in a caring community. (Luke 21)
Everyone needs to be remembered and acknowledged whether their contribution is enormous or just a speck in comparison.
Let’s not also forget that as the haves of this world, we should be “eager” in our quest to provide for the have nots, driven to find meaningful ways we can make a difference for them.
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! Galatians 2:21 NIV
For most, keeping your nose clean, following the rules, and being a good, decent human being seems a solid path to whatever lies beyond this life.
Wouldn’t it be great if that’s all it took?
Gaining a righteousness just from observing the laws as the Jews did will get you pretty far in this life but not far enough for the next
That last step has long been a stumbling block but a necessary one for passage into eternal life.
No matter how much we try, nobody begins or ends up sinless.
Belief that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God to die and resurrect for us as payment for our sinful selves is the final step over the threshold into the kingdom of God who is able to do anything but tolerate the presence of unrepented sin.
Be good and follow your rules, yes, but to understand that faith and belief in Jesus is the final chapter completing your story is a whole new revelation testified to by the entire New Testament.
Christ didn’t die for nothing.
In this race called life, you matter to God and were made by him to be a winner.
The day will come when we check our morning calendars or draft an email and give little to no thought to the date in front of us or its historical significance.
Already, this newest generation has moved on to other critical issues and incidents which have formed their own years of life and are likely to affect their next and beyond.
It happens. The pace of events and changing news cycles is dizzying these days and few are able to keep track of both history and present.
It will be left to a generation of elders who are quickly passing on and into oblivion themselves.
But the day will come when America forgets to mourn and a sad morning that will be when there are no more tears and the promise to never forget is forgotten.
I bought a one bedroom home because it’s compact, quick to clean, and I can’t hoard too much stuff in it.
That said, while my best friend and I each live alone in our own homes, we spend weekends at mine because for a decade or more we were roommates in a two bedroom with Butch and we still enjoy our Three’s Company routine all together.
We all sleep in the same bed each night where the only kissing, touching and loving involves Butch who is pretty insistent on it.
Our arrangement often raises questions, eyebrows and disbelief in others except for us.
We get to enjoy our friendship and share love with our four-legged other best friend all day and nobody needs to miss a good night’s sleep banished to a sofa because of someone else’s eyebrows.
Nobody recoils at a fart or a foot touch and they both take all the covers since I sleep hot year-round.
Maybe we take best friends to a whole new comfort level for some but it’s how we roll and get to be roommates once again, even if just for a couple days a week.
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
John 4:35, 42 NIV
Seeing is believing, but blessed are those who don’t see and yet believe.
The Samaritan woman at the well had a story to tell that changed her prospects of forever.
First thing she did was to share her experiences with others, unconcerned about what they might think of her.
No edits. No pauses. No concern for herself. Only that she possessed a life-changing experience which compelled her to want the same for those she cared about.
Waiting for the promised Messiah was over.
Hard enough to believe that a Jew would even consider holding a fraternizing conversation with a Samaritan—and a woman at that—hearers of her account had plenty reason to believe she’d lost all her marbles or something funny was in her well water.
But her very personal account that had disclosed her sin promised the acceptance and forgiveness for which she’d undoubtedly yearned.
“Take it or leave it, this just happened to me.”
Our very personal encounter with the living Christ is our take it or leave it story to share.
It’s not our place to argue its veracity, only to present it at the feet of others and to watch the spirit of God move in hearts and minds of others.
Seeing is believing, but blessed are those who don’t see and yet believe.
