PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE

BY MATTHEW LITTLE

The Burdens Of Life

The Christian life is filled with ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like we move from one burden to the next, but, not all burdens are the same. God’s Word says much about “burdens” as if to remind us that they are an inevitable part of our journey. In Galatians 6, Paul gives us a crash course on “burdens” and what we should do with them.

First, there are burdens that we must be willing to take up. Galatians 6:1 reminds us that some people are overtaken by sin. The fact that we are called to “restore” them suggests that often Christians may allow sin to get the best of them. Into such a scenario, other Christians are called to “bear one another’s burdens”. Such people have felt the weight of sin discourage them, crush them, and defeat them and we must gently, humbly, and sympathetically come along-side such believers to restore them in their walk with Christ. The motivation is that they are our brothers or sisters in Christ and we are all part of one body. But, there are two practical reasons we must willingly take up the burdens of others. First, because the most miserable person on earth is not an unsaved one but a saved person out of fellowship with God (Psalm 51). Second, the greatest testimony for or against Jesus is the life of the Christian. Paul said to the Corinthian believers that they were living epistles (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Your life is telling a story and that story should be leading people to Jesus. When we find that someone else’s story begins to lead people away from Jesus, it is often a sure sign restoration is necessary and helping bear their burden will inevitably be a part of that process.

The first burden that we take up for others is that which is crushing them and bringing them down.

Second, there are burdens we must faithfully stay under. This burden pictures a soldier carrying a backpack filled with things that are heavy but necessary for his journey. Galatians 6:5 says, “For