“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Gal 6:2
My daughter and I recently attended a revival service at a local church. I say local when in reality the church was way, way, WAY up a West Virginia holler. Just a few days prior, I had received the request and focus scriptures to prepare this writing, and I had been praying that God would reveal Galatians 6:2 to me in a fresh way to gain better understanding. That Sunday evening at revival, God answered my prayers. It was at this humble country church that God showed me, unfolded before my eyes, what it meant to bear with one another as believers.
The number in attendance was somewhere around 30, a full house evident on the excited faces of those older saints calling this church home. My daughter and I felt right at home with these brothers and sisters, not a moment of awkwardness, just comfortable. One particularly boisterous sister donned a noticeable and attractive gold broach of a robin perched beside its egg-filled nest. I never did get her name, so in my mind I called her Robin the entire evening. Robin had greeted us with an abruptly outstretched hand to shake while asking, “Who are you and how did you come to be here tonight? Do I know any of your people?” Such a very West Virginia thing to ask, and I gave Robin a brief overview of my lineage which was apparently ample enough for her to shift the handshake into a hug before she walked away to greet the next guest in a similar way.
Yes, this church was filled with people who loved God and loved each other, and the sweet presence of God’s Spirit was in every moment. It was soon testimony time, and after a few praises the service was moving to the next phase. As the opening chords from the guest musicians began, Robin jumped to her feet yelling, “I can’t just sit here and not say anything much longer!” All heads turned as the music stopped in one of those record scratch moments. Robin proceeded to give a difficult account of all the anguish and loneliness and stress of being a caregiver for her family member nearing end of life. She had informed others in her church of the situation, but had apparently never shared much detail when asked, and had certainly never asked for help, or prayers. Robin apologized for not being honest, saying she didn’t want to bother anyone because she was, “supposed to be the strong one.” Robin opened her heart and admitted she was so very tired of doing it all by herself, that she needed prayers for herself, and help getting through. Once Robin was finished speaking, she dropped in exhaustion to the wooden pew and wept. But she did not weep alone. The previously empty seats were quickly filled with other older women. Those closest to her placed an arm around her, crying right along with her. No spoken words, just tears and silent prayers sent to a very real and present Savior who had decided in that church, on that Sunday evening, that Robin had carried her wearisome burden alone long enough. The revival service moved on, but not before I dried my own eyes and thanked God for these faithful believers. As I witnessed this beautiful display of vulnerability and responsiveness of the church family, God whispered to my heart, “This is what it looks like to bear one another’s burdens.”
Now I’ll ask you, “Who are you and how did you come to be here?” Maybe you are Robin at this very moment, unwilling to ask for help; or perhaps you are one of her church family members, unaware that Robin is bearing a heavy burden alone. We are called to be in community with other believers for many reasons, one of those is to bear one another’s burdens, so fulfilling the law of Christ.