Burdened Down

“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2

Last weekend I was able to take a mini vacation to Lake Tahoe for three days. I was looking forward to seeing a play with friends and family on Saturday night. Then I was planning to spend the next two days alone camping and hiking. I love to go hiking so this was a real treat for me. At the end of the last hike I took off my boots and put on my flip flops. But sandals sure don’t protect your feet very well. I must have stepped on something packing up the rest of my things and my left foot started getting sore. The next morning it was painful enough to have me limping and hobbling around the office whenever I needed to leave my desk.

I was on the way back to my desk from the restroom when someone I passed asked how I was doing. Without even thinking about it I replied that I was doing ok. She didn’t say anything, but I suppose that with a limp it must have been obvious that I was not fine at all. The scripture came into my mind that we are to carry each other’s burdens. So later in the day when someone else asked if I was ok, I replied that my foot was sore and gave the short story. He immediately launched into a story from when he was 19 and stepped on some driftwood at the beach. His foot got infected and he needed minor surgery to make it all better again. In a strange way it was encouraging that I wasn’t the only one with a bum foot from time to time. And if he could come through surgery just fine, then surely the worst was survivable for me too.

Later I looked up the scripture about sharing burdens. What I read was not exactly what I was thinking on the trip back from the restroom. I had been thinking that as a Christian and a church member, I am supposed to help fellow members when they need it. You know, take someone soup if they are sick. Take care of the yard once in a while for a senior citizen. My recollection told me the text would be about how I can’t enjoy community with my fellow Christians unless I actually open up about the challenges I face. That is true enough. But that isn’t what the scripture is about. I read it very carefully again and realized it is talking about helping a fellow believer when they face a sin issue in their life. It is about helping them deal with the burden of a sin they just can’t shake loose. What’s more, it’s about being willing to accept that help myself. Whoa. That is a lot of community. That is going to require more authenticity than I am used to having in my life.

So, if I come to you some day and ask you to please pray for me, and please hold me accountable, would you please be kind? It’s hard to ask for help. And I promise to be kind when you come to me too.

[PhotoCredit:j3ku]