Day 26... Bear One Another's Burdens

Day 26... Bear One Another's Burdens

Bible verse:

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  "Where have laid him?" he asked.  "Come and see, Lord, " they replied.  Jesus wept.  John 11:33-35

How powerful do you find verse 35.... "Jesus wept" ?  When I read that I feel it in my very core, in my soul and am comforted to know that He was as human as the rest of us.  I thank God for that understanding.

In today's lesson, Moore reflects back on his friends Kevin and Janell's story of suffering when Kevin had a brain tumor not once but twice and how their small group from Church rallied around them and shared their burden.  They stepped in when Janell had to work and wasn't able to take her husband to follow-up doctor appointments and such.  Not only did their small group do these things, but they took on the ordinary chores of taking care of their home, making meals and other ways of supporting this couple in their time of suffering.  This is what it means to share each others burdens.

Sometimes the suffering isn't so obvious, sometimes it is emotional because of many different reasons, such as a financial burden that comes along unexpectedly, or our children rebel, or find themselves on a bad road that leads them to draw away from us, the loss of a job, or the unexpected responsibility of having to raise grandchildren or take care of an elderly parent.  Even though these stories all fall into unique categories, each is a type of suffering and can lead people to find comfort through chemical abuse, such as drugs and alcohol or worse, depression. 

Thank God, Christian believers have something better than any of that, they have each other!!  So remember to take time to quietly pay attention to your friends, co-workers, strangers whom you encounter because sometimes their suffering shows up when they least expect it.  Sometimes, they are angry for what we think is nothing at all, but underneath there is a storm brewing and it happens to show it's ugly face.  Do you know what I mean?  Have you ever seen this happen?  I have and I'm sure if you think about it you have also.  When someone you know unexpectedly "bites" and it is not like them or maybe it is not so unexpected, maybe they act like that all the time.  Have you ever asked yourself why?  Try it sometime, you might be surprised to find out that they are suffering too.

Remember:  We as Christians have the privilege of suffering together with members of our small groups, but not everyone has this privilege, so offer it up, again you may be surprised at the blessing you receive.

God Bless!