Galatians 6:2 Bear you one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. These passages seem to be contradictory; but the opposition is only apparent, not real. One asserts a Christian obligation, the other states a solemn fact. I. THERE ARE BURDENS TO BE SHARED. Our relationship to each other, and our possession of advantages and talents, involve us in manifold responsibilities. 1. Burdens of ignorance. It is our duty to diffuse the knowledge of God, and to attempt to remove the evils of darkness and superstition. 2. Burdens of sorrow. Calamities, distress, bereavement, appeal for sympathy and ministry; and we cannot escape the demands upon us for consideration and help. 3. Burdens of infirmity. All are in jeopardy. The strongest are not always strong. Christians are not to rejoice in iniquity, or affect a disdainful sanctity, but to seek with Christlike gentleness and grace the recovery of the erring one (James 5:19, 20). The Christian has two noble attitudes or possibillties — he can look up, and he can lift up. Think of the animating motive, "and so fulfil," etc. Christ taught the law of action by (a) His precepts, (b) His life, (c) His death. II. THERE ARE BURDENS WHICH CANNOT BE SHARED. 1. The burden of personal duty. 2. The burden of sinful character. 3. The burden of individual responsibility. 4. The burden of death.Conclusion: Do you carry an anxious heart, or a weary soul, or a guilty conscience? Get rid of the heavy burden. Carry the load not a moment longer (Psalm 55:22). (M. Braithwaite.) Parallel Verses KJV: Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.WEB: Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. |
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