Galatians 6:2

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." Gal. 6:2.
But I can't even bear my own burdens! This Biblical command seems to be asking for major inconvenience and trouble. I've only been in full-time ministry for 7 years, and I am shocked at the number and the type of burdens people carry today. Unfortunately, too often people only get counsel after their burdens have already driven them to the brink of despair. We have inadvertently and tragically created a culture where getting help is a sign of weakness. This verse teaches that the local church should be a safe place to share our hurts, our burdens, and our sins. But we don't want to bother anyone with our problems. Many don't want to be bothered by another's problems. We don't want others to see our "dirty laundry." We are all too familiar with playing make-believe at church. We put on our nicest clothes. We put on our best smiles and our "everything is great" facade - all while carrying sin problems and other burdens we don't want others to see. The command is to bear one another's burdens. When we do this we fulfill the law of Christ. The principle goes both ways. 1) I must check our pride at the door. Vulnerability is a scary and risky state. But it is the protocol if we allow another to bear our burdens too. 2) I must love my neighbor as myself. Bearing another person's burden includes: befriending them, praying with them, holding them accountable, visiting them, taking them a meal, or helping in some other appropriate way. We are not to fix people. That's God's job. We are to accompany them through their burdens so they are not alone.
"God, help me to swallow my pride and share my burdens with a trustworthy Christian. Make me the safe and trustworthy person others need when they seek help. Help me to be Christ-like as I seek to bear other's burdens."

Galatians 6:1

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
Paul is now showing what to do when another Christian is unquestionably living in sin. Maybe it's an offensive sin. Maybe it's an anger problem, sexual sin, or a drug or alcohol problem. Maybe the fault is a tendency to gossip or to lie or to cheat. Paul knows that this type of thing happens and drama ensues, and relationships are damaged. It's no different in our lives today. Paul says that the spiritual response is to forgive, help, and restore that person. Our natural response however is to expose, punish, and avoid the person. There is a call in this verse for spiritual maturity. We are to treat the person how we would want to be treated if we were caught in the same fault. This is not to sugar-coat the sin. But what hope is there in the Christian life if people cannot be helped with their sin problem, and restored?

There are certain sins that bring a stiff Biblical penalty. For instance, if a pastor commits adultery, he unquestionably and permanently has disqualified himself from pastoral ministry in the local church. He may still be gifted, experienced, and passionate. But he cannot be restored to that office due to the Biblical restrictions given in I Timothy 3. However, when repentance is clear, and humility is obvious, restoration as a person is the Biblical command. The same holds true to non-pastors. If only perfect Christians can serve in ministry, there will be no one to serve - in any capacity. Let's get into the business of helping people through their spiritual faults and then getting them involved in an appropriate ministry where they can properly shine again.

When the Sump Pump Fails

Heavy rains drowned our area. Several inches of standing water provided my family an unexpected fun evening of splashing around in the backyard. The fun all ended when I descended to the basement to find that the sump crock was almost completely full of water. The submerged sump pump lay silent in its watery grave. 4 separate times during the next 2 days I became a 1-man bucket brigade - bailing out countless gallons of slimy water before it overflowed and flooded our basement. I detached the old sump pump only to discover that it was from the time of Noah - presumably the same one Noah had installed in the bottom of the ark. Off to the local mega-home improvement store for an unexpected $100+ purchase. After a long, unproductive hunt for the elusive sump pump aisle, Benjamin loudly announced, "Dad, just ask that store worker right there where the sump pumps are at." The employee smiled and walked me to the destination. I made my purchase, returned home, and successfully completed my first ever sump pump installation.

God was certainly in control. It was better to spend over $100 on a new sump pump than lose hundreds of dollars in ruined basement clutter. But even if we did have a flooded, ruined basement, would God still be in control? We tend to only celebrate God's control when everything turns out ok. The day comes for all of us that everything is not ok, but God is still in control, He is still all-powerful, and our tragedies are well within His capable care. Look at what God asked Job in his time of tragedy:

"Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth?" Job 38:25-26a

"Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? Canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? Canst thou send lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, 'here we are!'?" Job 38:33-35

Obviously, God alone is in control and nothing ever sends Him into a panic. We need to learn to trust Him.

Galatians 5:26

"Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:26
"Vain Glory" is another term for selfish ambition. Paul clarifies what type of selfishness he's getting at: the kind that intentionally degrades and harms people - specifically other Christians. It does something for our ego to rub another person's face in their faults or sins. When we are offended by another, our natural reaction is retaliation. We want to punish, irritate, and provoke that person - not so much to get them to change - we do this because it simply makes us feel better. Paul strongly warns against this type of retaliation. It only does more damage because it is selfishly motivated.

Secondly, he warns us to avoid envying one another. This is the opposite extreme. We envy others when we constantly feel inferior. We internally beat ourselves up because we're not as talented, spiritual, skinny, athletic, wealthy, disciplined, or happy as someone else appears to be. This act of envy is actually self-centeredness. A tendency to covet others' lives can quickly turn them into idols and their good traits into objects of lust.

These unhealthy opposites are symptoms of the same problem: self-centered ambition. This problem will be yours and mine when we choose not to walk in the Spirit. "God, help me to see others with eyes of compassion and care. When I'm offended, help me to turn the other cheek and forgive instead of my tendency to retaliate. Remind me to simply be blessed by others' strengths when I am tempted to covet and envy their strengths. Produce your spiritual fruit in me today."

The Unending Circle

Ethan looked at my hand and said, "what is that thing on your finger?" The innocence and ignorance of 4-year-olds is constant entertainment. I tried to explain that mommy gave me this ring almost 10 years ago when she married me. Of course he didn't care anything about that... he only wanted me to take it off and show it to him. I never take my ring off, but was able to finally remove it and show him my initials, LaVonna's initials, and our wedding date inscribed inside the band. Ben was now interested and wanted to see pictures of our wedding day. Since our wedding album is safely stashed behind a baby-proof cabinet, it was easier just to show him the two wedding pictures we keep out in our bedroom. "Look how beautiful mommy looked in her dress!" "Look at all your hair in that picture, dad!" My ring was also visible in the photo. I explained that I have hardly ever taken it off since that picture was taken. My wedding band is a constant sign to me, LaVonna, and the world that I am happily married. I wouldn't trade our marriage for anything. This all reminded me that our boys will enter adulthood either wanting a marriage like ours, or wanting to be nothing like us. I hope and pray that we model a successful, happy, and thriving marriage. It not only affects LaVonna and me. Little eyes are watching and learning from our example. "Marriage is honorable in all..." Hebrews 13:4.

Gatalians 5:25

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:25
This seems to be a restatement of Gal 5:16 where we were commanded to walk in the Spirit. For Paul, it was not a restatement at all: it was a more specific, clarifying command. The term, walk, is a different Greek term altogether than what Paul previously used. Before you say, "WHO CARES?", please realize this different term for walk is the key to this chapter! It means to live in conformity to a fixed standard. This verse could easily be translated like this: "since the Spirit has given us life, we should also let Him control our lives." Let's face it, this is easier said than done. Sure, we want to get saved and go to heaven. We love the idea of everlasting life. But how many of us are longing for our lives on earth to be Holy Spirit controlled? Paul is making a case for deliberate consistency in the Christian life. This verse demonstrates that God's Spirit should be in control in every area of the Christian's life: church involvement, marriage, the workplace, the business trip, our endless entertainment options, parenting, finances, relationships, and free time. As Christians, we have been given life by the Spirit. We are Biblically commanded to also walk in Him... or allow Him to control us. Can we really expect success in life if we do not give God the right to be in control?

Galatians 5:24

"And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Pretty graphic statement when you think about it. Paul's direct audience was all too familiar with the horrors of Roman crucifixion. Crucifixion was a brutally painful way to die. It was also a method of publicly shaming the criminal while striking fear into the bystanders. The Romans had obviously crucified Jesus decades before Paul wrote Galatians. Other than believers, that culture was in denial that Jesus had risen. Paul now states, "they that are Christ's..." implying that His resurrection was real, but also that real ownership over the believer is in Christ alone. Believers are not owned by the culture, the government (praise God), or even by the church, because they are Christ's. He now states that all saved people "have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." How do we still struggle with the flesh if we have "killed" it? Paul is showing that when a believer is saved, he/she publicly transfers allegiance from the lusts of our day to Jesus Himself. We must see the lust of the flesh as an enemy or criminal which is intolerable and must be publicly shamed. This does not mean that we become perfect people free from temptation, but rather, that sin is not our master. If you are saved, you have publicly transferred your allegiance from sin to Christ. If that is so, are you serving your real master, or are you tolerating sin?