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July 18, 2004 Christian, God Calls You to Carry
When was the last time you had to 'fess up to a bit of a miscalculation on your part? This week, there was a knock on my office door and in steps a couple of girls I know pretty well. They kind of have their heads down, stealing glances at each other. "Uhh, there's been a bit of an incident," they say. I'm thinking, "what kind of an incident?!?" "Well, we were out playing catch and we got a little carried away and somehow my glove ended up on the church roof. I'm really sorry. I promise it will never happen again." I said, "That's okay. I forgive you. I'll help you get it down from there." But of course, to get a glove down from the roof, you don't just reach up with your arm. You need a ladder. And so, I took the girls out to the garage and showed them where the ladder was. And I asked them to help carry the ladder. In fact, when it seemed like one of the girls wasn't carrying any weight, I said, "Move back this way, so you are carrying your part of the load." Now, by asking those girls to carry the ladder, was I punishing them? Was I making them pay for what they did? No. I had already forgiven them. I was simply asking them to do what was appropriate for a pair of forgiven children of God. I was asking them to help carry the weight of the ladder to go fetch their glove. And as forgiven children of God, they were more than happy to do it. If you think about it, isn't that how God deals with each of us on a daily basis? Let's face it, we've all done things a lot worst than throw a glove up on the roof. And yet, what has God done? In Christ, God has forgiven us. And now, as forgiven children of God, we look for opportunities to show our thanks to God for his forgiveness. And God gives us those opportunities. One of the opportunities God gives involves carrying something. In fact, that's what St. Paul is speaking about here in our text. Here in Galatians 6, St. Paul says in effect, Christian, God Calls You to Carry
St. Paul begins, "Carry each others burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Now, it might be easy to misunderstand those words, "you will fulfill the law of Christ." Paul is not saying that if you are helpful to your fellowman, then you will have perfectly fulfilled the law of God. In this section, Paul is not dealing with justification. He's dealing with sanctification. In other words, Paul's' not talking about how to get right with God. He's talking about how to live once you are right with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul has already told these Galatians that they are free from the power and guilt of sin. And now he's talking to them about how to use their freedom. He's giving them instruction about how forgiven children of God deal with their fellow man. He's saying that they are to carry the burdens of others. And when they do that, then they are fulfilling the "law" of Christ. Or maybe a better way to say it would be: they are living according to the pattern or the model that Jesus laid down for us. They are bringing forth the appropriate fruits of faith, in keeping with Gods' will for their lives. But now, specifically what does Paul mean by "carry each other's burdens?" Is he talking about carrying the groceries in from the car or carrying an extension ladder for someone? Well, frankly, yes, that may be one of the burdens we're called upon to carry. We may have an opportunity to help someone with a physical or financial hardship. Maybe that means donating groceries to the Apple Valley Food Pantry or in turn delivering those groceries to needy families in our area. Or maybe it means donating furniture to the Hmong who are moving into our community or mowing the lawn for a neighbor fresh out of the hospital. These are all ways for us to carry the physical burdens of those inside and outside of our church family. Isn't that what St. Paul tells us to do in verse 10? "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Let us do good, not just wish good, or even pray for good to all people. But do good. As forgiven children of God, God calls us to reach out our arms and carry the burdens of others. And yet, it must be said that the burdens which God asks us to carry for others are not just physical burdens. Just as often they are spiritual or emotional burdens. The death of a loved one, the news that the cancer is inoperable. A challenge of raising a teenager, or an adolescent or a two year old. The heartache of a promising relationship that's gone sour. The emptiness of another Friday night spent all alone. These are things that can weigh a person down and beg for fellow Christians to help carry those burdens. God calls on us to bring words of encouragement, to pray for and with these people. Carry their burdens. Do you remember the Native American word for a "friend"? "One who carries my sorrows on his back." Jesus calls us to be that kind of friend to our fellow man-carry their burdens. And yet, here in our text, the Apostle Paul speaks of one other kind of burden that God calls us to carry. And that's the regret a person feels when he or she has done something wrong, or believed something wrong. In fact, that's the situation that Paul refers to here in our text. He says, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." In this case, I think it's helpful to call to mind the circumstances of Paul's letter. Remember, Paul is writing to the Christians in Galatia. Many of those Christians, including even Peter for a time, had fallen into the sin of the Judaizers. They had started believing that a person had to obey the Old Testament laws in order to be right with God. Paul, by his preaching, had led many of the Galatians to see the error of their ways. They had received God's full forgiveness. But Paul also has a warning for the Galatians who had not been caught in the Judaizers' trap. He says in effect, "you'd better be careful how you treat your fellow believers who have fallen into sin. You need to restore them gently. You need to be careful that you don't take on a better-than-thou attitude. Be careful that you're not totally insensitive to the pain and remorse they are feeling. Paul says, "Watch yourself or you also may be tempted." My friends, don't those words still apply to you and me today? I don't know about you, but I find it awfully easy to see the mistakes other people have made, to notice the flaws in their character, or the errors in their thinking. And when I see those things it's easy for me to put those people down, or conversely, put myself up. To think, "Boy, why would she do that? I'd never do that. I'm not nearly as mean, or careless or ignorant as he is. I'm smarter, and much more considerate or helpful or (fill in the blank) than they are." Wait a minute! Because we're so quick to see the sins of others without seeing the sin in ourselves…because we're quick to heap the blame on other people in our lives, therefore God, here in our text, offers a very important directive. Speaking through the pen of the Apostle Paul, God says, "Each one should II. Carry his own load." What does that mean? In addition to carrying each others burden we should carry our own load? Well, I think Paul offers a pretty good explanation when he says, "Each one should test his own actions." In other words, before we grade anyone else's actions, we better grade our own. When we do that-when we judge our own actions-we must use as our measuring stick, not the actions of other people, but rather the standard of God's Law, recorded right here in the New Testament. We need to measure our behavior against Jesus' words in Luke 6:27-28 "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Or Col. 3:9, "Do not lie to each other," or Col 3:13, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another." Paul's point is this: rather than looking at the sins and shortcomings of others and being tempted to feel better than every one else, you and I need to look at ourselves in the mirror of God's law and see ourselves for what we really are: weak, miserable sinners who have no reason for pride, or boasting, or lording it over anyone else. Rather, all we can do is plead, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." And inexplicably, that's exactly what God has done, hasn't he? He has had mercy on us. He's sacrificed his Son in our place and erased the sins from our record. And now dressed in Jesus' holiness, God stands us up against the standard of his law and says, "You match perfectly. In my eyes you are as holy as Jesus himself." My friends, if we're going to take any pride in anything, it better not be in what we have or haven't done, but rather in what Christ has done for us. He is our ultimate source of hope and strength. Or as St. Paul puts it: "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Are there times when you feel weighed down by a particular problem in your life? Something that seems heavier than you can carry? Bring it to the Lord in prayer. Let him carry it for you. Jesus offers the open invitation: "Come to me, you who are weary and burdened…and I will give you rest." As Jesus lifts those burdens from your shoulders, as he assures you of his unconditional love and forgiveness, he also equips you to do the same for your fellow man. As someone who has had the eternal burden of hell removed, you are in the perfect position to help other people carry the temporary emotional and physical burdens they may face in life. It reminds me of a scene from an old black and white movie starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Spencer Tracy was playing the role of Father Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town. Father Flanagan came across a young lad who was carrying an even younger boy on his back. When the Father asked, "Say, isn't that fellow heavy?" (You maybe know what he said): "No Father, he's not heavy; he's my brother." May God grant to each of us that same spirit of unselfish, burden-bearing love, so that having let Jesus carry our eternal burden we are ready to go out and help people carry their earthly burdens, not with a spirit of pride or boasting, but with a spirit of humble, selfless sacrifice, for Jesus' sake. Amen. |
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