GALATIANS 6:1-5

SUNDAY-MONDAY, JULY 15 - 16, 2007

"HE AIN’T HEAVY, FATHER .... HE’S M’ BROTHER."
 

Bear and Share the Burdens

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load. Galatians 6:1-5 (NKJV)

As I have done in the past I have chosen to do a series of Devotions by going verse by verse through a Book of the Bible. This time I have chosen the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians. The first Devotion, for Chapter 1, verses 6 - 10, was written earlier and can be found by going to the Devotion Archives. Each following devotion will remain on this page for approximately 6 days before it will be transferred to the Archives. It is my prayer that these devotions will assist you in your Bible Study and in your growth in Faith and in the Love of Jesus. Here then is the seventeenth in this series of Devotions.

'He ain't heavy, Father . . . he's m' brother," is a phrase that I have known since my youth.  Father Edward Flanagan saw this phrase as a caption in a line drawing, of a little boy struggling to help another boy printed in a magazine. He wrote, requested and received permission to alter the phrase and use it as a slogan for his ministry,  Boy’s Town. Growing up in Omaha and having had contact with the ministry of Father Flanagan, and later as a Lutheran Pastor, I was in awe of all that was accomplished on the Boys Town Campus, just west of Omaha, Nebraska.

This is what St. Paul is talking about as he now turns to telling the people how to live and experience the joy of Living in the Grace of God.  In verse 2 he writes, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Yesterday I used the theme of "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative" and it really puts this verse in perspective.

Bearing one another's burdens is accentuating the positive while fulfilling the law of Christ is eliminating the negative. When we are fulfilling the law of Christ we are eliminating time that we might have spent in breaking His Law. As an example, instead of worrying, sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves, blaming God and others for the economic, social or physical health problems in our lives, why not pick up the phone and call someone who would enjoy your call, or write a note, or best of all go to their home and visit with them. When you are giving of yourself and your time to lift the burden of loneliness you are fulfilling the law of God that you love one another, and removing opportunities for sin from your own life.

There are all kinds of burdens that we can carry for others. Some are burdens of sin. We can make a difference. You will find that you also will be able to say, "He/She ain't heavy, He/She is my brother/sister in Christ. We can find new joy in our own lives by helping others. Pray about it and then try it. You won’t be alone, God will be with you.

WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, help me to take my eyes away from looking at myself so that I can see the needs of others. When i see some way that I might help carry the burden for another, give me the strength and wisdom to do it. AMEN

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION

I love to receive notes from people telling me of what they have done to share the Love and Help of our Lord with others. Today I received such a note from a regular visitor to these pages. She wrote:  "Last evening a dear Friend from High School called and was going to have more tests this morning, very upset.   I said, _____ , what time is your test?  She said 8:30 A.M.  I said when they start, you pray the Lord's Prayer and I will do the same at the same time.  She said ok.....    a couple other girls called and asked about her and I told them what we were going to do and asked them to join us.....   Anyway I called her this evening and she was happy and full of fun. She said,  I prayed like you told me too....I don't have to see the Dr. for two weeks, and the Dr. that did the tests says it looks good.....How can people not Believe??"

The above is a simple way for bearing the burdens of another, and my friend did not even have to leave her home to do this. Can you do something like this?   Please let me know how you share the burdens of others.