Devotional: Galatians 6:2
As I sat down to prep for this, I realized God has been priming me for this specific devotional. A little over a month ago, Bryan (my husband), gave a dramatized speech in church as if he was Paul preaching the book of Galatians in response to the Judaisers of that time. A week after that, a newly believing coworker asked me about this verse specifically and how I would explain it to a non-believer. So, I feel like this passage has been set in my mind for a while now!
We are looking at Galatians 6:2:
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The first thing that I will touch upon is the second half because it’s not the focal point of this passage, but it establishes the context of the book’s theme. “..., in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.” What is the Law of Christ? When reading the book of Galatians as a whole, the main discussion is the fact that we as Christians are no longer under the old law. In fact, the law of the Old Testament now places us into slavery, because we cannot keep the law in its entirety. Instead, we have found freedom under the new covenant, through Christ’s sacrifice and His fulfillment of the Law. The Law of Christ is simply put—love one another. That is our requirement as Christians. Because Christ loved us and made salvation available to us, we are commanded to love others. So, we’re going to keep that in mind as we dive into the other section of this verse.
“Carry each other’s burdens…” This is one of the verses that gets spread around by itself. When you hear it, you think about coming alongside someone with emotional support, delivering meals to someone in need, letting people talk through their troubles with you, etc. You think of shoulders to cry on, encouraging notes, and bringing flowers to hospitals or funerals. But reading this verse in context brings a deeper meaning and weight to this passage.
Galatians 6:1-5 reads:
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. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.
This section of scripture is focused upon morality and moral weaknesses, not merely about the physical and emotional struggles of life. It is talking about encouraging and supporting fellow believers in regards to their struggles with sin. The burdens that Paul is referring to are the sins that believers find themselves slipping into. As followers of Christ, and to obey the law of Christ, we should be coming alongside believers who are struggling with sin and helping them get back to a right spiritual standing.
This is a hard teaching for us! As a society, we place a great emphasis upon our privacy. What we do is no one’s business, but our own. We don’t like people poking into our lives, and we, most often, don’t like poking into someone else’s. Now, this verse isn’t saying we have to have an intense, sit-down intervention whenever we see a fellow believer slipping into sin (although in more advanced stages, this may be needed). But, it is a reminder that we do have a responsibility to each other to help guide each other in a correct walk with the Lord.
Paul does give a warning alongside this command. While we are correcting our fellow believers and helping them to understand , we are not to lose sight of our own morality. We each are responsible for our own sin. By helping someone else see the sin in their life, that doesn’t mean the sin in our life has lessened. We are also suppose to be scrutinizing ourselves and our own actions to see if there is sin in our lives. Verse 4 says “test your own actions. Then you can take pride in yourself.”
I found that this passage was a tougher pill to swallow than I thought. While being hospitable and supportive to our fellow believers includes the emotional support, the listening ears, the delivered meals, and the inviting over for tea, gentle instructions and advising are also an important aspect of showing love to our fellow believers. Paul instructs us that being a part of the family of Christ, the correcting and restoring of fellow believers is also a demonstration of love.
By Rebekah Just
Large Group Coordinator
