Our Beautiful Burden: The Gift of One-Anothering
Written by Aaron Miller | Pastor of Equipping
As an introvert, ministry can be overwhelming. Since people are the aim of all pastoral efforts, there is no end to questioning the effectiveness an introverted pastor can have in his calling. It seems introversion and pursuing people are at odds, which is true if not for the power that holds all things together, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not unique to pastors; this embodies the experience of many people in the church family. Discipleship and relationship inherently demand the sharing of and receiving of burdens to grow together in Christ. Looking to Christ and trusting His Word brings balance. His kind lordship and the work of His Spirit bring clarity –to see people as He sees them and, just as importantly, to see oneself as one should. And ironically, God uses the very thing that takes tremendous energy to motivate and build trust – other people.
People are messy, as all pastors can attest, and there is no shortage of reasons that justify retreating from the mess until one embraces an uncomfortable truth: this pastor is messy, too. The apostle Paul says in Galatians 6:1-2, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken 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.” In this passage, Paul addresses how to deal with someone overtaken by sin, but his instruction also applies to pursuing others when inconvenient.
“When dealing with sin in another believer, the one indwelled by the Holy Spirit, which is all Christians, should restore the brother or sister in a way akin to setting a broken bone.”
Notice they are to do this in a spirit of gentleness. Therefore, how does someone standing in the Gospel respond to someone in sin? They move toward them in empathy and compassion, knowing they are made of the same substances they are.
The temptation to avoid is believing that the only sin that needs to be confronted is found in other people. The Gospel teaches that any righteousness Christians have is a gift; therefore, when engaging someone who has wholly upended their life with sin, how they are approached matters! Patronizing them, looking down on them, or completely withdrawing from them is taking a position of self-righteousness. Maneuvering in such ways proves the Gospel is not being understood and embraces a posture of pride and conceit. Backing away from that person, and choosing not to get involved, lest it gets too messy, quickly spirals into spiritual elitism. Should the motivation to gather with the Grace Baptist family have anything to do with maintaining a pretty and plastic veneer, it would have nothing to do with what Jesus is doing in His church. There is no competition in this church family. No one is better than anyone else. Abandon any semblance of a competitive spirit or nail it to the cross. Being a part of the church means gathering to enjoy the presence and fellowship of the Lord and with His people. This involves so many beautiful interactions, including but not limited to helping people clean up one another’s mess with the Gospel.
“There is no greater joy than to be a part of this family, who understands the Gospel, and what it means to engage one another’s burdens that are brought on by sin.”
Not all burdens are directly rooted in sin. Still, Paul’s instruction helpfully informs the posture and approach one must take when pursuing burdens of all kinds.
People make a couple of excuses not to carry others’ burdens. On its face, the first excuse looks noble because it looks like justice. “Well, they brought it on themselves, consequences!” This response is biblically backward: Whoever responds this way should consider the misery Christ brought them out of. Praise God for His grace, who did not look upon any member of the Grace Baptist family and say, “You brought it on yourself, consequences!” See Paul’s crescendo in verse 2; carrying one another’s burdens fulfills the Law of Christ, the law of love. Love voluntarily shares the burdens of others, especially those caused by sin, and we can expand the principle to all burdens we see others carrying. Keep in mind that Jesus took on burdens that were not His.
The second excuse people offer as to why they don’t get involved in carrying others’ burdens is, “I can’t afford to help them. I can’t help them without coming under burden myself”. This, too, is biblically flawed, for this is precisely what Christ did for every member of the Grace family. He took every burden. Suppose someone struggles with a 100 lb. duffle bag; how can they be helped? Someone takes one end of the duffle bag, and someone else carries the other end. Now, no one holds 100 lb.; each has 50 lb. To help another person, some of the burdens must be absorbed by the ones who help. Most people want to give to others without it costing them anything. People tend to want to help without feeling any burden. But that does not characterize people who have experienced the Gospel! A conceited person who has forgotten the Gospel thinks, “I’ve pulled myself up by my bootstraps. All others should do the same! I’ve spent my life trying to get myself to a place without burdens. I’ve earned my position. I’m certainly not going to encumber myself with others.” That is a picture of what conceit looks like, all the while being unaware of the great need they had when Christ saved them.
Again, look to Christ as an example of how to move toward people. Grace is God moving toward people in Christ. He didn’t pursue the ones who first bettered themselves and made the job more convenient. People were sick and needed Him. Or worse, they were enemies who were not inclined to surrender. In his book, Caring for One Another, Edward T. Welch says, “Because of Jesus, you no longer look for the easiest person to talk to when people gather. Instead, you move toward the quieter ones, the new person, and the outliers. Imagine a group of people who move toward each other –active more than passive, loving more than fearing rejection. They look glorious; they attract the world. This is an example of what the apostle Paul calls putting on Christ and is evidence of the Spirit of Christ at work in us” (Edward T. Welch, Caring for One Another, 19). Consider the burdens that are currently present in the Grace family. How many of them are shared burdens? Is there anyone who is struggling alone? Who is moving toward them? To put it more practically, every Christian should embody the desire to share their burdens and gladly receive those of others to inhabit the Christian ethic of “One-Anothering.” One sign a person has encountered Jesus is their willingness to share in the burdens of others, burdens that aren’t inherently theirs, even burdens people bring on themselves due to sinful decisions.
This introverted pastor has been the beneficiary of such pursuits in the Grace family countless times. When the flesh prevails, insecurity and self-centeredness cause the pursuits of people to seem overwhelming. However, with Christ at the helm, the Holy Spirit energizes His people with gospel power to move toward all the barriers of introversion. When in need, even the introverted need to be pursued. And the Grace Baptist family has done just that; God has used them to overwhelm this pastor and his family with love, encouragement, and a place to belong.