“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the
weak, and not to please ourselves.” -Romans 15:1
We are all supposed to be looking out for one another. As the
family of Christ, it’s our job to care for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
For me, that picture of my family in Christ watching out for me sounds a lot
better than me watching out for myself. No matter how strong I am, I can’t bear
my own burdens, fears, and doubts. Why? Because I was never created to carry it
all alone. The Lord tells us to cast all our cares on Him because he LOVES us
and most of the time this is a lot easier said than done. As people, we love to
hold onto things and sometimes it takes another believer to come along side us
and help us let go of our doubts and worries and surrender them over to the
Lord.
God himself is love- thus we cannot love unless we abide in
Him and He in us. The only way we can be successful in bearing the burdens of
one another is if we are first abiding in the love of Jesus. It will be
literally impossible to love one another and bear the burdens of those around
us if we are not first going to Jesus and letting Him take our own burdens. We
love because He first.
However, we are also told we aren’t to do it to please
ourselves- not fruit will come from that. All we do should be with the goal of
pleasing the Father. In my life, I’ve tried to manufacture love so many times-
making things seem genuine when they aren’t. It’s only when the love flowing
from us is from the Father that He is pleased. Anything not coming directly
from Him will be a plastic fake love that bring Him no glory. If we start in
the right place- abiding in His love and with the end goal of bringing glory to
the Father, then bearing the burdens of the weak and carrying the heavy load
won’t be so heavy. Jesus comes first. And it is only once we are in Him that we
are made strong and can bare the scruples of the weak. We need our family in
Christ, yet it is all in vain if it doesn’t first begin with Jesus.
Application: today I’m going to pull aside a teammate and ask
what they are struggling with and then pray with them to help bare that burden.
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