For the last few weeks in these blog posts, we have been looking at Paul’s letter to the Galatians and compared the life of a Christian to a tightrope walker. We try to maintain balance in our life. Losing balance can cause us to fall into the danger of legalism—everything is a sin, and let me point yours out for you—or indulgence—nothing much is a sin, and I can do pretty much what I want under grace. Both of those ideas are wrong. Along the way we discovered that balance is gained by keeping in step with the Spirit.
Well, I want us to come down off the wire. Today we continue our journey on a hike.
Our family loves vacationing in Dillon, Colorado. We hike, shop, hike, swim, play—and hike some more. I remember the first time Alex was there. She was four and wanted to go hiking. Now, we had ‘hiked’ down to the lake, but the condo was always in sight. She wanted a real hike.
One of our favorites is the hike to Lily Pad Lake, at the base of Mount Buffalo. It is almost four miles round trip. It is rated easy, but there are some steep parts—and four miles in and out is a long way for a four-year-old.
It was only Alex and I, as Sari stayed back with one-year-old Mackenzie. I knew what was going to happen. After the first hill, she would be done and want carried. The idea of a four-year-old on my shoulders or riding piggyback for more than three miles was not appealing.
I told her, “You will have to walk. It is a long way. I am not going to carry you all the time.”
The incentive was that at the lake there was a beaver hut and the possibility of seeing the beavers swimming and playing.
So we headed out.
Well, we learned something about Alex that day: tell her she wouldn’t be able to do something, and she will work hard to prove you wrong. We took some breaks near brooks, took our time stopping for pictures, and she made it all the way to Lily Pad Lake and about halfway out before she succumbed. I carried her off and on the rest of the way.
Life is hard sometimes. It feels like a hike where the air is thin—and you feel every breath takes maximum effort. There is a great incentive at the end of life—eternity with God—but the journey is sometimes more than we can handle.
Sometimes we just need someone to carry us.
In Galatians 6, Paul gives some practical teaching on what “serving one another in love,” “crucifying the sin nature,” and “keeping in step with the Spirit” looks like in everyday life. Three words demand our attention: Carry. Test. Weary.
Carry. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
These aren’t spotters who walk beside you in case you start to fall. These are brothers and sisters who come up under you and carry you—put you on their backs and carry.
Sometimes you’re the carrier. Sometimes you’re the carried.
We need to be willing to share the need, too. Don’t allow pride to keep you from sharing a need. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” Paul gives us a clue as to how God will sustain us: through human friendships within the body.
Test. Paul tells us to test our own actions. Scrutinize your life. Test your motives. How am I doing in the “love your neighbor as yourself” category?
You can always find someone who is doing worse than you. But you need to be a better you—not better than someone else.
True testing requires humility. Are you someone people can count on to help carry the burden of others? Are you the first to sign up, the one who begins praying without being told, the one who shows up without being asked?
Weary. Paul says, “Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9).
There is a real possibility that you will grow weary. Ministry is messy. Getting involved in carrying other people’s burdens is not easy because we all have burdens to some degree. There will be a real temptation to give up. Human nature says, “Me first.”
But Paul reminds us that we reap what we sow. If a farmer gets tired of sowing and only sows half his field, at harvest he will only reap half a crop.
If we want a harvest at the appropriate time—when Christ returns—then we need to keep sowing now.
And if you are weary, share your burden with Christ and with other believers. Sometimes you are the one carrying. Sometimes you are the one being carried.
That is how the body of Christ works. And that is what it means to keep in step with the Spirit.
Life is a long hike! Who carries you? Who are you carrying?
Ted Harris
Associate Pastor