Love 2
Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].
GALATIANS 6:2 AMP
Burdens are different yet universal to everyone. We all have ours, some more private than others, but we all have where the shoe pinches us. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man has struggled for practically everything. Even in developed economies where you would expect things to be better, the simple matter of sin continues to pose a problem to all of humanity.
Today's extract gives a mandate to help others with their own burdens, yet appears to say nothing about what happens to mine. It would appear that when i help others with their burdens, then my own burdens are also being taken care of. As the same mandate is given to me, so is it given to all who share common allegiance and ownership in Christ. If indeed I know who I am, obedience will not be an issue. And the whole essence of this instruction is love.
This love- why is it so peculiar? Why does this kind of love keep looking outwards, not inwards? Why does it keep looking at impacting others, not pursuing selfish interests? Why does it always seek the good of others, no matter their reception or response to me? I have learnt that God isn't primarily interested in how people react to me as much as He is interested in how I reach out to other people. If I know what the love of God is through personal experience, I won't struggle to share it with other people.
It is called Christ's law of love, showing it is a law, a command and a requirement, but like all things from God, he won't force himself on anyone. He wants willing partners through whom He can work; through whom His heart will be made manifest. Though it is called a law, he wants me to come to Him willing. I could do that now and enjoy the benefits of a lifetime of service, or I could disobey, live as I please, take my chances and wait till judgment day. As always, the choice of the now and the eternal are mine. His time of favour is here.
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