We all carry burdens. Some are large and some are small, but nevertheless they are there. When I was in youth ministry, I learned a great deal about burdens every summer when we participated in Wilderness Trek. Trek is a week-long hiking and backpacking trip in the Rockies. Each person carries everything they need for the week on their back (usually anywhere from 40-60 pounds). Every year there would always be at least one person who would struggle with getting their pack up the mountain. During those times, our guides would stop everyone and tell us that we needed to help carry the load of the person who was hurting. I would always stand in amazement as these kids would literally take the bulk of the load from that person, and they would distribute it out to each other and take the load on top of theirs. We left no one behind and we climbed that mountain as a group, even if that meant carrying each other’s burdens.
How many times do we come across others who are hurting and carrying burdens that they can’t handle on their own? Daily? Weekly? It’s one thing for us to feel sorry for them. That’s easy. It’s another thing all together to help them carry the burden. Jesus is our ultimate example. He didn’t come into the world saying, “I feel sorry for you.” Instead, He went to the ultimate extreme and he took our sins (our greatest burden) upon Himself. He took the punishment that we deserved.
Look around you. Are there burdens that you can help carry? Are there people around you who are struggling and hurting? Sometimes the best way to deal with our own burdens is to help others with theirs. When we take the time to carry each other’s burdens we show the world who Jesus is and what it means to truly follow Him.
Galatians 6:2
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” NIV
