Bearing a Burden

Just recently my husband and I were talking to a Christian couple that was upset over wayward family members.  Family members that had recently professed that they accepted Christ, but they are now missing church.  These new converts are young and have never been in church, and do not “know how to act.”  While I agree that them being out of church is wrong in all kinds of ways, I do not agree with the statement that the wife made.  She said, “I’ve told them what they need to do, so they’re not my problem anymore.”   That statement sent cold chills down my back.  I know that it can get very frustrating when dealing with wayward family and friends.  I completely understand that!!!  However, if we as Christians don’t show them some longsuffering, love, and faithfulness, who will?  I promise you they are not going to learn how to be a Christian or how to live a life that is pleasing to God, out in the world.

 I don’t believe that this is just a matter of opinion.  I don’t think that only those who are patient should keep witnessing to the wayward.  It is an order from God that we all carry this burden.  A person, group, committee, church, or community without a burden for the lost and wayward, is at a standstill.  To be right with God, we must have a burden for them.

 Too often, we mistake what Matt 11:28-30 has to say.  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  This never says that there will be no burden.  This simply says that the burden will be lighter.  When we share a burden with God, it will be lighter on our end.  But, we must have a burden.

Lets look at a burden…..

First, there must be a Connection to the Burden.   1. We must realize the burden.  We must acknowledge that we have family, friends, and a community that are lost and on their way to hell.  We must also realize that our fellow “fallen” Christians need help.  IT is after all just the grace of God that we are not where they are.   2.  We must receive the burden.  Just acknowledging that someone has messed up is not enough.  We must be willing to sacrifice our time, meals, and pleasures so that we can pray for these individuals.  3.  We must relay the burden.  A burden is not really a burden at all to us if it is not passed on to our children.  I don’t mean that we should pass financial and marital burdens on to our children. I mean that our children should be burdened for the lost and wayward, because they’ve seen us be burdened for them.

Next, there are certain Characteristics of a Burden.   1.  Burdens are troubling.  Exodus 1:11 says “Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.”  Burdens are not easy to live with sometimes.  They are troubling to our hearts, our heads, and our habits.  A burden can and will make you do (what the world will view as peculiar) things.  2.  Burdens are testing.  They will test our devotion.  God sometimes wants to know that we are serious about something.  They will test our devotion to the sinner, to the saint, and to our Savior.

Last, lets look at the Comfort of a Burden.  You might ask, how in the world do you find comfort in a burden.  1.  A burden is comforting because of its rareness.  When we truly carry a burden, there is something different about us.  There is also something different about our communion with the Lord during these times.  2.  A burden is comforting because of its reward.  I Peter 5:7 says “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  God truly does care about our cares.  He loves us and wants the best for us and for those that we love.  There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that you are in the perfect will of God, and that is just where a true, honest, sincere burden will land us more times than not.  It is also comforting in that a sincere burden will not go unnoticed by God.  He still has the power to convict and convert sinners, and He promised that its not His will that any should perish.   So that leads me to believe that if we will carry the burden of their souls eternity, God will save them.

Maybe knowing and understanding a little more about a burden, will help us to be burdened about our lost and backslidden loved ones.   We are the only ones that are ever going to develop a burden for them.  The world does not care about their souls.  It IS up to us to be burdened about our loved ones and their standings with God.   If we truly believe in hell, like we say that we do, we will bear these burdens with a gladness.  What is one or two meals, or one or two hours more in prayer, if it means that a loved ones soul misses an eternity in hell?

Thank You For Being A Friend

I need friends in my life. I don’t just mean friends who make me laugh or smile, but friends who love me enough to share what God is doing in their lives and who are willing to share correction with me. I need friends who will help me grow to be more like Christ. I was reminded of this a couple weeks ago over a cup of coffee.
I asked my friend how I could be praying for her and what God had been teaching her that week. As she opened up and shared her heart with me, I was amazed.  Her zeal for God was contagious and I wanted more of that.  Her love for others broke through my heart of selfishness and the Holy Spirit began convicting me that I too need to selflessly love and care for others more.  I left that coffee shop freshly encouraged to love God more and to live each day in service to Him.
I think this is what the writer of Hebrews was referring to when He said, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”. (Heb 10:25)  We always use this verse to remind others that they ought ot be at church when we are having service( and we should, but we should not neglect the exhorting one another.  Be an encouragement.  Help your Christian brothers and sisters get thru another day.
As a part of the body of Christ, we are called to grow into His likeness, through His Spirit’s enabling, as well as build up and support each other in the body.  Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:16 “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” God has not called us to run this race alone, but He has graciously given us the Body to provide encouragement, support, care and even correction at times.
I am thankful for the friends that God has given me who continue to point me to Christ and encourage me to live each day for Him.  Let us learn from the writer of Hebrews and consider how we can motivate our friends towards love and good works, how we can point them to God, and how we can encourage them with the glorious hope found in the gospel of Christ.  Be the kind of friend that you need when you are down.  Love people.  You can take a stand against wrongs and errs without “kicking people while they’re down.”  Encourage your friends, for the glory of GOD.