Our church recently threw a summer picnic with a wonderful men’s ministry. It was our way of showing support for the journey the men in the program are on. I love how their ministry has as its goal, “personal development [that produces] good habits, work ethic, and character.” After talking with the director and staff over the last year, they have made it clear that the burdens these men carry need to be owned by the men but must be shouldered together with others. In other words, community is everything.
We’ve all heard it, “It takes a village.” Some of us were raised in neighborhoods where the people next door and down the street were as much parents as our own folks were. They saw what we were up to, and maybe they told our folks or handled the moment themselves, or maybe they just kept a close watch and jumped in if we needed them. Either way we knew our neighbors had our backs.
Deep down, we all know that we need help. We each have 1,001 reasons why we don’t ask for help, but success comes when we foster a culture of support. It really is just KNOWING that someone is there that can be half the battle for us to experience victory. If we will get up underneath one another’s load, it will get easier. The only issue is when we fail to share the burden because we have prejudged the outcome. Jesus’ offer to take up the cross was free and open, whether we believe or not. That’s the power of grace.
Hands extended during a time of blessing over the men’s ministry program.
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” —Galatians 6.1-2 ESV
Paul’s words here are just awesome. He talks to the Galatians—in the midst of some internal turmoil—about restoration. And how we restore is important, too. Gentleness instills hope, and it leads others in a way of solidarity and trust. And just as we watch others, we need to watch ourselves, too. We are never beyond temptation. This is precisely why we need each other. I have heard my entire life “Be good to people and people will be good to you.”
But that last line in the text is so important, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” The law of Christ is to love God with everything we are and have, and then to love others as ourselves. This would include bearing one another’s burdens. He bore our burden, therefore we bear His burden—and what was His burden but the weight of our sin. So to surround others with a sin-bearing ministry and presence is what a community should do; it’s what the village does together.
Whether it is a men’s ministry of hope, or being a good family, friend, or neighbor, I would encourage you today to focus on getting up underneath the problems of others, to bear one another’s burdens, and watch God be glorified through such work. We’ll fulfill the law of Christ as His children if we will carry it all together. It’s part of why the Church exists.
—Pastor Whit