Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2
I think that everyone would agree that life can be challenging. There are so many things that we must deal with and face throughout our lives. If we simply sat back and tried to do all those things on our own, we would most certainly fail.
We often talk about our reliance on God as Christians. We certainly want to rely on God as He is our source of strength to help us make it through those things we face. Yet, we are in this life together. We are all here to go through life and we interact with those around us in many ways.
So why did God say that we should bear one another’s burdens? After all, God says that we are to rely on Him for strength. We know that God is our help through all the challenges of life. Yet, the Bible still seems to stress the importance of helping others with their situations here in Galatians.
If we look back at the teachings of Jesus, he told us to love each other. That means we should care and have compassion for the lives of others around us. Part of that is to realize that others face trials in this life and we can certainly help them through those burdens. It is not discounting our own burdens, but it is that we help each other along.
So the next time that someone shares with you the challenges they face, remember the words of Galatians 6:2. They are asking you to help them bear their burdens. Maybe ask the simple question “how can I pray for you?” You never know the difference you can make in someone’s life by simply helping bear their burden to God.