City Life Starter

I. The Word: Galatians 6:1-2

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

II. Reflection Questions:

1. What keeps you from sharing your struggles with your brothers or sisters in Christ?

2. Have you felt alone, even among fellow believers?

This is something that’s been on my heart pretty heavy lately. I think we all feel isolated to a degree. No person on this earth will truly know me, just like no person will truly ever know you. Some will know each of us more than others will but only God will know you completely (Read Psalm 139 if you need a wonderful reminder). So when the text says to “bear one another’s burdens” I don’t think the author is talking only about tangible needs like finances or needing a place to stay for awhile. I think it goes deeper than that. We learned in Genesis that when Adam and Eve sinned their reaction was to run away and hide themselves. It was the start of the brokenness between man and God and between man and each other.

We still feel the effects of that today. Author Donald Miller put in his book titled Scary Close, as he was talking to his friend Bill,
“Bill said at some point [in my life] I realized, whether true or not, there was something wrong with me. Either I didn’t measure up to the standards of my parents, the kids at school made fun of me, or I came to believe I was inferior. Shame, he said, caused me to hide. ‘And that,’ he said, ‘is a problem. Because the more we hide, the harder it is to be known. And we have to be known to connect.’”

That shame drives us to isolation and the sad thing is, this isolation is all too common. I had lunch with a man recently who had been struggling from isolation for a long time. It started because of hurricane Katrina where he lost his home and saw others lose their lives. In some cases, lives that were in his care. He eventually was displaced to Texas where he bounced around unable to get a job, which eventually led him to prison and alcohol. Now he’s stuck in a hard place, where society condemns him for his actions but he can’t break the cycle because of the hard things he’s experienced. Tears were running down his face as he said this. Here’s the kicker, he shared that even though the food was good, the main thing he needed was to vent. That’s what he needed the most, to be known. No one had given him that opportunity.

“Everybody wants to look down on you for drinking but no one wants to ask why you do it.”
Sin in this world, and the sins we commit ourselves, put a heavy weight on us and drive us further into our transgressions. The Word says to “cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you” (Ps 55:22), but we know from elsewhere in the bible that casting our burdens on Him was not the fullness of His design to bring us healing. We’re also to “bear one another’s burdens”. 

That involves both a willingness to give them as well as a willingness to take them. Spiritual community is available to us, but we have to choose to accept it. We can’t neglect that. The wellness of our spirit is at stake. We need to be open and confide in our fellow brothers or sisters about the sins or shame that we bear or that we feel define us, whatever it may be, in order to receive the restoration. And we need to be there for them so they can receive the same. You don’t have to do anything to fix it, or have some secret solution for their problems, just being there for each other and accepting one another is all it takes. That’s one of the many beauties of spiritual family! “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Ps 133:1). God’s designs are so good.

III. Prayer
People are hurting, Lord. I know You see it and I know Your heart breaks for it. Open my eyes and help me see it too. Thank You for accepting my burdens upon Yourself and thank You for giving the gift of spiritual family so that we can share our burdens with each other. If I wander off on my own, Lord pull me back to my family forcefully. Give me a heart to reach out to any brothers or sisters who are wandering too. Let me always provide a place for them to be accepted, just as You have accepted me.
In Jesus name, Amen.