Many are familiar with the story of the loaves and the fishes but few are acquainted with the loads and the burdens and it may be every bit as important to our spiritual well-being as the miracles but for many of us would be tantamount to food multiplying if they knew this lesson (or at least the multiplication of your time). What am I talking about? I am talking about healthy boundaries and knowing when to say, yes, and when to say, no. How do we as servant-hearted people know what is healthy service and what is too much?
The answer for us is in Galatians 6, where the Apostle Paul tells us bear one another’s burdens but then he advises but everyone must carry their own load. Its not always that clear to us what the Apostle means because words like burden and load are so fluid in our society. But it goes something like this, loads are the everyday responsibilities that we all need to take care of ourselves. If you do not eat, if you do not get dressed, get up for work or any of those normal activities that everyone has to do, that’s your problem, not mine. On the other hand, if you have suddenly become disabled, had tragedy befall you, or had some kind of crouching burden put on you, the call on the community of Christ is to help you get out from under that overloading burden until it either passes or life can be readjusted to make the new life situation less overwhelming and less crushing.
Now, when we are helping those whose life has suddenly been crushed by tragedy or sudden illness it may be that the best way we can help is to take care of some of those daily loads that are otherwise normal so that the person in the tragedy can process their burden. So then I can step in and cook meals, run to the grocery store, mow the grass probably easier than I can go to the doctor, go to the lawyer or anything else like that. I come alongside in those moments and I do what I can to ease the weight of the burden. Chances are I cannot fix the problem but I can make it easier for you to get through it.
So, if your friend, neighbor or family member is crushed by the extremes of life then we are called to bear their burdens just as Christ bore our burdens at Calvary. But if those same persons can’t seem to live without you, I have good news. You are not the Messiah; that would be Jesus Christ, and since he does not rescue them from life’s load, neither should you.
