Hurting with those that Hurt

I just got off the phone with a dear brother in Christ who has been walking a very difficult path in life.  It has been a long journey and the journey is not over yet--and he is well aware.  The road ahead is filled with all types of caution signs, pain, decisions, and much confusion.  The tone in his voice and the pain in his heart was very difficult to hear.  My heart goes out to him and it causes me to think, "what more can I do to help carry my brother along." How do I help carry my brother's burden?  What can I do to help him walk stronger in Jesus Christ?  I feel a sense of duty, not as a pastor, but as a Christian.

I'm reminded today of the pharisee in Scripture, an expert in the Law of God, who approached Jesus Christ and asked Him what the greatest commandment was.  Jesus answered by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:34-40).  We are also told by the apostle Paul to, "Carry each others' burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2).  But what does this look like?

Paul’s use of this particular verb (carry or bear) may picture Jesus shouldering (bearing) his cross on the way to Golgotha (John 19:17). As used in this verse, burdens refers to the heavy or oppressive burden that a believer cannot carry alone.  It could be financial burdens; it could be burdens of physical loss. We must help “bear” the loads that others find too heavy to carry alone.  This is truly the intent of the Great Commandment.  As we take on the weight of that burden with others, we are literally fulfilling what is summed up in the book of God's Law.

Is there a hurting individual that you can come alongside of today and help carry their load?  Christ carried a burden for us that we were unable to bear, all the way to the cross of Calvary.  I'm confident that even if we don't know how to support them today that God will give us the answer if we are petitioning Him on their behalf.