- "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For every man shall bear his own burden." — Galatians 6:2, 5
GALATIANS were apparently fond of the law and its burdens. At least, they appeared to be ready to load themselves with ceremonies, and so fulfill the law of Moses.
Paul would have them think of other burdens, by the bearing of which they would fulfill the law of Christ. We are not under law, but under love. But love is also law in the best sense. The law of Christ is love. Love is the fulfilling of the law. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Lest this principle should be presumed upon, he mentions the principle of individual responsibility. "Every man shall bear his own burden?' I. COMMUNITY. "Bear ye one another's burdens?" 1. Negatively: It tacitly forbids certain modes of action.- We are not to burden others. Some take a liberty to do so from this very text, as if it said, "Let others bear your burdens," which is just the reverse of what it urges.
- We are not to spy out others' burdens and report thereon.
- We are not to despise them for having such loads to bear.
- We are not to act as if all things existed for ourselves, and we were to bend all to our own purposes.
- We are not to go through the world oblivious of the sorrows of others. We may not shut our eyes to the woes of mankind.
- By compassion, bear with their former sins (verse 1).
- By patience, bear with their infirmities and even their conceit (verse 2).
- By sympathy, bear their sorrows (verses 2-3).
- By assistance, bear their wants (verses 6, 10).
- By communion, in love and comfort, bear their struggles.
- By prayer and practical help, bear the burden of their labors and, thus, lighten it (verse 6).
- The erring brother. Referred to in verse 1 as "overtaken in a fault?" We must tenderly restore him.
- The provoking brother, who thinks himself to be something (see verse 3). Bear with him; his mistake will bring him many a burden before he has done with it.
- The brother who is peculiarly trying is to be borne with to seventy times seven, even to the measure of the law of Christ.
- The greatly tried is to have our greatest sympathy.
- The minister of Christ should be released from temporal burdens, that he may give himself wholly to the burden of the Lord.
2. Each must bear his own shame, which results from his sin.
3. Each must bear his own responsibility in his own sphere.
4. Each must bear his own judgment at the last. III. PERSONALITY. "Every man ... his own burden." True godliness is a personal affair, and we cannot cast off our individuality. Therefore, let us ask for grace to look well to ourselves in the following matters: 1. Personal religion. The new birth, repentance, faith, love, holiness, fellowship with God, etc., are all personal.
2. Personal self-examination. We cannot leave the question of our soul's condition to the judgment of others.
3. Personal service. We have to do what no one else can do.
4. Personal responsibility. Obligations cannot be transferred.
5. Personal effort. Nothing can be a substitute for this.
6. Personal sorrow. "The heart knoweth its own bitterness."
7. Personal comfort. We need the Comforter for ourselves, and we must personally look up to the Lord for his operations. All this belongs to the Christian, and we may judge ourselves by it. So bear your own burden as not to forget others.
So live as not to come under the guilt of other men's sins.
So help others as not to destroy their self-reliance.
An old anecdote of the great Napoleon records that, while walking along a country road attended by some of his officers, he encountered a peasant heavily laden with faggots for fuel. The peasant was about to be jostled aside as a matter of course by his social superiors, when the Emperor, laying his hand on the arm of the foremost member of his escort, arrested the whole party, and gave the laboring man the use of the road, with the remark, "Messieurs, respect the burden."
Let him who expects one class in society to prosper to the highest degree while others are in distress try whether one side of his face can smile while the other is pinched. — Thomas Fuller
There is a proverb, but none of Solomon's, "Every man for himself, and God for us all." But where every man is for himself, the devil will have all. — William Secker
"Every man shall bear his own burden"; this is the law of necessity. "Bear ye one another's burdens"; this is the law of Christ. Let a man lighten his own load by sharing his neighbor's burden. — T. T. Lynch
There is a gateway at the entrance of a narrow passage in London over which is written, "No burdens allowed to pass through." "And yet we do pass constantly with ours," said one friend to another as they turned up this passage out of a more frequented and broader thoroughfare. They carried no visible burdens, but they were like many who, although they have no outward pack upon their shoulders, often stoop inwardly beneath the pressure of a heavy load upon the heart. The worst burdens are those which never meet the eye.
Bishop Burner, in his charges to the clergy of his diocese, used to be extremely vehement in his declamations against pluralities. In his first visitation to Salisbury, he urged the authority of St. Bernard, who being consulted by one of his followers, whether he might accept of two benefices, replied, "And how will you be able to serve them both?" "I intend;' answered the priest, "to officiate in one of them by a deputy." "Will your deputy suffer eternal punishment for you, too?" asked the saint. "Believe me, you may serve your cure by proxy, but you must suffer the penalty in person." This anecdote made such an impression on Mr. Kelsey, a pious and wealthy clergyman then present, that he immediately resigned the rectory of Bernerton, in Berkshire, worth two hundred a year, which he then held with another of great value. — Whitecross
With many, personal service in the cause of humanity is commuted for a money payment. But we are to be colliers in the campaign against evil and not merely to pay the war tax. — "Ecce Homo"
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