Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
– Galatians 6:2
What a good word. What a good, short, significant word for you and me today that we fulfill the law of Christ. In Galatians 5, there’s been an emphasis on how the law of Christ is love, and how the Christian life is faith expressed through love. And specifically here in Galatians 6:2, the command is to bear one another’s burdens.
Galatians 6:2 Calls Us to Close Relational Bonds
Just think about that in your own life. When your burdens are heavy, it’s really good to have someone who bears that with you, who steps into that burden with you, who shoulders the load of it with you, who seeks to understand, as best as they can, how you are feeling the weight that you are feeling and attempts to carry that burden with you. And God by his Spirit in this verse is telling you and me to do that with one another.
So I just want to encourage you in a very practical way today to look for an opportunity to bear another’s burdens today. Ask how people are doing, not just, “Hey, how are you?” But like really, “Hey, how are you doing? What’s heavy? Anything heavy on your heart?” And then look for an opportunity to bear that burden with them.
What can you do to show that person they are not alone with that burden? May be as simple as praying with them, for them. That simple act goes such a long way. Or there might be something you could do for them. Or it might just be listening to them and letting them share with you. But bear their burden today and look for opportunities to continue bearing that burden with them. And as you do know that you are fulfilling the law of Jesus.
Galatians 6:2 Calls Us to Imitate Christ’s Burden Bearing for Our Sake
So God, we pray that you would help us to bear one another’s burdens according to Galatians 6:2. We pray specifically today. We’re praying this verse on this day for a reason, and we’re going to interact with somebody today who needs someone to bear a burden with them. So God, help us to be sensitive to Your Spirit’s leadership in that. And really, God, as we pray this, we pray for this perspective every day.
Help us to look for opportunities every day. We are surrounded by people who are walking through so many different things that are heavy on their hearts. God, we pray that you would help us to live daily bearing others’ burdens. And as we pray this, we praise you for your love for us, that bears our burdens with us. When you tell us in 1 Peter 5 to cast our burdens upon you because you care for us. Oh God, we praise you as being the one who ultimately bears our burdens with us and for us.
Jesus, for how you have borne the burden of our sin and death for us. How you’ve conquered sin and death and ultimately suffering and made eternal life free from burdens possible for us in the future to come. God, we praise you for your burden-bearing love for us, and we pray that you would help us to reflect that burden-bearing love for others, and in the process to fulfill your law.
Prayer for the Adi Dravida People
And God, we pray for the Adi Dravida people of India, 8.7 million of them, hardly any followers of Jesus, who know the one who has born the burden of sin for them. God, we pray for the Adi Dravida people of India. Please cause them to be reached with the good news of your burden-bearing grace, your burden-bearing love, that they might be eternally relieved of the burden of sin and death, be saved to walk with you, to cast their burdens on you, knowing you care for them, that you do what none of the hundreds of millions of Hindu gods can do for them, ear their burdens. God, we pray for the Adi Dravida people of India, all of this in light of Galatians 6:2. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
