Weight

Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”

At last night’s group gathering, we talked about following the life of Christ and not just resting on the promises of the cross. We talked about being Christ in the world around us and remembering not just the death and resurrection but the model of life that God displayed through Christ. We discussed how we are called to be the hands and feet of God in the world and how we should cover all those we meet, especially the outcast and sinner, with a blanket of love not the sword of judgement.

As we discussed the broken world around us and reflected on ways that we could live more like Christ, I started to feel a little overwhelmed. The work of the kingdom began to feel the largest weight all placed before me. As I look around the world, I see so much work that needs to be done. I see brokenness. I see hate. I see Christians using their ‘values’ to shame and cause harm. I see Christians causing separation and division instead of sharing the Good News of a loving Christ who came to save all sinners—ALL SINNERS. That includes you and me as well as the person with dark skin down the street, the gay couple next door, the trans person you saw at the park, the homeless man on the corner. Christ came for all of us. We are all sinners after all, are we not?

Yet so many Christians want to feel ‘better than’. They want to raise themselves up so they push others down. They continue to use fear and hate to do so. There are still so many in this world that do not feel the love of God, that do not know who very precious they are to Christ. The weight of that seems so heavy to me.

I want the world to know the love of God that I have experienced through Christ Jesus.

I want people to see the light and love of Christ shine through me.

I want our world to move closer to the Kingdom that God desires for God’s children…all of God’s children, for we are each and everyone of us made in God’s own image, sculpted by God’s own hand, knit together in our mother’s wombs by a loving God.

I want that love to shower down on all people.

I want all people to feel the care, peace, and grace of a loving God and feel whole in who they are, just as God made them to be.

But for so many, that is not true. A loving Christianity has not been their experience. The sword of hate has been wielded against them time and time again. The example of God’s love that Christ Jesus set throughout his life has been missed and overlooked too often.

The weight is heavy, the task before us is so vast.

Then I ran across this Scripture this morning and I am reminded that this task is not mine alone. Nor is it yours alone. This is OUR burden and together we can make a difference. I can make a difference, no matter how small. But the smallest ripple can grow!

I can set an example of Christian love. I can take each chance I get to shower other with love and hospitality. I can provided space for conversations and questions that allow us to become better at sharing God’s love with others and opening space for conversations about how to do that. I can write posts that might encourage you to reach out to that person you know who has been hurt by the Church in the past by judgement and hate and maybe you will share with them a bit of Christ love in this moment which might move them a little closer to healing.

I do not carry this burden alone. We are called to carry it together and as the saying goes, many hands make light work. Together we can fulfill the law of Christ to love our neighbor and care for this kingdom with love and hope until Christ comes again in perfection!