"Bear one another's burdens..."

Since October 9^th, we have experienced “community” through a wide variety of gifts and helps. It was in meals brought to our house, or errands run by neighbors; it was through the gift of friends taking time to “house sit” with our son, and family taking time away from work or school to visit and help in practical ways. In these and in other ways, we were gifted with real expressions of community.

Why? When you’re sent to a hospital with a medical emergency, and then you’re in ICU for two weeks, you are in real need of practical “community!”

In the upcoming weeks on this blog, we’ll share some stories about what we've experienced and learned about Christ-centered “community” that will hopefully encourage you to be an active part of each other’s lives. 

We believe that each of us is already part of someone’s community, and that Christ wants to show each of us how to share his life and his love in community with others.

This week, some thoughts about how community comes with a cost.

Every gift or help we received during my hospital stay had one thing in common – each gift was not convenient for the giver. In fact, caring for one another is not “convenient,” by definition. You must give up something in order to care for some one.

Time is limited. Money is limited. And our personal energy is limited. So, in order to “be” a Christ focused community, it will cost; and that means we will usually be inconvenienced.

That’s why we are called to “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6.2)  We can help shoulder a burden, and that involves a certain amount of sacrifice and effort to pick up and carry a “burden.”

But being a community in Christ is not a legalistic work; it is a spiritual expression of love for each other. The love or empathy we feel for others will make the giving sweet and holy.

This is expressed by the apostle John when he wrote: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3.16-18)

When giving flows from love, it expresses God’s love for us. Our love for others makes the cost of that gift a precious offering – it is a personal offering that is given in order to show love.

Here are some examples of how we experienced this kind of community.  A friend brought two meals, even though she is in the midst of her own battle with cancer.  Another friend who is suffering from a degenerative nerve disease pushed through the pain to cook and deliver a homemade supper.  And another family brought dinner, even though they had two reasons why bringing a meal would have been just too inconvenient: the wife is recovering from hip surgery; and, they are living in a borrowed apartment while their condo is being renovated from storm damage during Hurricane Irma.

By the way, none of these friends mentioned here attend our church or our fellowship, although everyone from our fellowship has stepped up, showed up, and whipped up some great food to share with us!  Many of you who are reading this know first-hand about this: you too have given to us sacrificially, through gifts of time, food or money this month.

Our life’s intersection with each friend is different – but our common link is a common love and concern for each other. This fulfills God’s call “…to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6.18)

This week, take a moment and reflect on how you can bring practical expressions of love to those who could use a practical expression of a Christ-filled community.

Perhaps it’s a neighbor, a family member, or a co-worker – ask yourself, whose life has intersected with yours that is providing an open door for you to share their burden and share God’s love?