“Are we merely ‘burdeners’ or burden bearers?”

 by Andrew Overly

Sunday afternoon at Jasper County fair has historically been the day that the horse pull takes place.  Carla’s recently deceased grandfather enjoyed tractor and horse pulls.   There are trophies all over his house that verify this passion he had to harness up a couple of ponies and watch them work together to accomplish a goal.  And so, pulling is in Carla’s blood.  For this reason, when she can get her husband to comply (J), our family will join the crowd to watch these powerful animals pull ”boats” filled with concrete blocks.   While trying to quell my fears that someone will lose a finger when hooking up their team to the boat, I enjoy watching these big horses do their work.  It is amazing the amount of weight they can haul.   Besides dragging their own body weight (something I find this as a chore each day to do physically, emotionally and spiritually), a recent pair of horses pulled 13,000 pounds at Topeka, Indiana.  Wow!  The amazing thing is they seem to enjoy a good relationship with the men who add the weight to their sled and the man who drives them to pull that weight.  What’s more, they seem to be chomping at the bit to pull the load.   They actually seem to enjoy the labor.    

Did you know that God intends us to be weight pullers?  Moreover, he wants to provide us purpose and joy in the labor it entails.

First, we are meant to pull our own weight.  Galatians 6:5 (NASB95)   5 For each one will bear his own load. Jesus provides a manageable burden that we all are meant to bear in service to Him.   He describes it in pulling terms in Matthew 11 when he says, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  We are to constantly be working alongside our brothers and sisters, bearing the burden of service provided to us by the Lord.  It is a manageable and purpose-filled burden in contrast to the burden of the world that robs us of purpose and becomes too heavy to bear (Matt. 11:28).   

However, not only do we have our own burdens to bear, we are also meant to carry the weight of others. Galatians 6:2 (NASB95) 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.   The terms used in this verse describe a huge burden that at times is too heavy to bear on one’s own.  This is where it often gets difficult.  You see the burdens that we carry for others, in the context of Galatians 6, often are burdens they created for themselves.  Our natural reaction is to resist the idea of bearing these burdens with and for others.  Yet at that moment, the words of Hillsong stop us in our tracks and remind us of the biblical truth, 

Everyone needs compassion,

Love that's never failing;

Let mercy fall on me.

Everyone needs forgiveness,

The kindness of a Savior;

The Hope of nations.

Savior, He can move the mountains,

My God is Mighty to save,

He is Mighty to save.

Amazingly enough, often God allows us to participate in moving those mountains.  By His direction we His servants have great burdens loaded on us, by His great power we are provided the energy to team up side by side to move these loads, and by His grace mountains are moved miraculously.  And what is the source of joy in the midst of this weight pulling?   1) Having a tender relationship with the God who holds the reigns to His burden bearers; 2) Having a clear purpose provided by him in a world void of significance;  3)  Being able to participating in seeing mountains moved by God; and then  4) Standing back to see what He has done in and through us.  

As we continue our series on the body of Christ, remember that, as the body of Christ, we are meant to be burden bearers. All of us have burdens that we need others to bear with us; the question is, “are we merely ‘burdeners’ or burden bearers?”   As a part of our fused efforts as the body, you and I are meant to bear our own burdens and then yoke up to bear the burdens of those around us.  Let’s see what weight God intends to move through us. 

Stay tuned, and Sunday we will talk about the church’s core value, Compassionate Sharing with all Mankind of God’s Love.  Compassion is the yoke that links us together with God in our mission to bear the burdens of others.