Bear One Another’s Burdens

“No son of mine is going to grow up to be a burden on others. The Bible says you must carry your own load, and that is what I am going to raise you to do.” While those words from my dad are technically not wrong, there is more to what the Bible says about carrying your own load.

The idea is found in Galatians 6:5: “...each one should carry his own load.” Now, notice verse 2: “Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Those two verses seem to contradict each other…until we notice something interesting about the words.

This part of the Bible was originally written in Greek, and the Greek word that is translated “burdens” in verse 2 is baros. It reminds me of the Spanish word burro, a pack animal.

In verse 5, the “load” that each person should carry is the Greek word phortion, which kind of sounds like portion. It was the word used to designate the backpack carried by a marching soldier.

In other words, there are certain responsibilities that we must shoulder on our own - burdens that are right and proper for us to carry, AND there are extra heavy loads that we are not designed to carry on our own.

Think of it like this: If my car breaks down, my neighbor can help me bear that baros by driving my children to school, but he cannot carry my phortion by fathering my family.

There are times when we must allow others to carry our too-heavy burdens, but how do we do that? The only way is to partner with God to help others bear their too-heavy burdens.

This is exactly what Paul describes about Titus in today’s second reading. Notice v.6: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus…” When you help others carry their baros, you become a physical expression of God to them.

You can be a Titus even while you may need a Titus. In both cases, God is providing somebody to help bear a load that nobody should bear alone.

Prayer: Father, give me the strength to carry other’s burdens, to step in and be a blessing in your name.