Burden Bearing

"Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ"

(Galatians 6.2)

"Notice the assumption which lies behind this command, namely that we all have burdens and that God does not mean us to carry them alone. Some people try to. They think it a sign of fortitude not to bother other people with their burdens. Such fortitude is certainly brave. But it is more stoical than Christian. Others remind us that we are told in Psalm 55.22 to 'cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you,' and that the Lord Jesus invited the heavy-laden to come to him and promised to give them rest (Matthew 11.28). They therefore argue that we have a divine burden-bearer who is quite adequate, and that it is a sign of weakness to require any human help. This too is a grievous mistake. True, Jesus Christ alone can bear the burden of our sin and guilt; he bore it all in his own body when he died on the cross. But this is not so with our other burdens -- our worries, temptations, doubts and sorrows. Certainly, we can cast these burdens on the Lord as well. We can cast all our care on him since he cares for us (1 Peter 5.7). But remember that one of the ways in which he bears these burdens of ours is through human friendship.

A striking example of this principle is given us in the career of the apostle Paul. At one stage in his life he was terribly burdened. He was worried to death over the Corinthian church and in particular about their reaction to a rather severe letter which he had written to them. His mind could not rest, so great was his suspense. 'We were afflicted at every turn,' he wrote, 'fighting without and fear within.' Then he continued: "But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus' (2 Corinthians 7.5-6). God's comfort was not given to Paul through his private prayer and waiting upon the Lord, but through the companionship of a friend and through the good news which he brought.

Human friendship, in which we bear one another's burdens, is part of the purpose of God for his people. So we should not keep our burdens to ourselves, but rather seek a Christian friend who will help to bear them with us" (John R.W. Stott, The Message of Galatians, p. 157-8).

Lions, Languages and Longings

So, what are you Arkansans doing today? Let me guess, waiting in exhaustively long lines at the grocery store check-out?

I see the weatherman is calling for 2-4 inches of snow to blanket the Hot Springs area today and tonight, which should make tomorrow night's semifinal between Don Phillips's #2 Jessieville Lions and the 3rd ranked Bearden Bears a classic.

Last week, I picked Jessieville to win by seven and sure enough, they pulled out a last-minute, 28-21 win. The last time Jessieville made it to the semifinals (two years ago), they were knocked off by Charleston, 10-0.

Check back tomorrow for my pick. I've gotta wait and see if the weatherman's forecast is accurate as I think the weather and field conditions will play a factor.

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There is a really good article that appeared in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle unpacking the multicultural mosaic of California. 30% of all non-English speaking residents in the United States reside in California. The article highlights the demands placed on the educational system of California to teach English, but I think the ramifications identified in the article have major implications for those of us seeking to minister effectively in such a diverse culture.

I am grateful that at Woodward Park, we offer assemblies for the Cambodian, Hmong and Lao in their native tongue, in addition to our English assemblies.

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I love this quote in Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat illustrating the high-demand for connectivity during the infancy boom of the Internet.

"You had to go out and get a PC and a dial-up modem. The skeptics all said, 'It takes people a long time to change their habits and learn a new technology.' (But) people did it very quickly, and ten years later there were eight hundred million people on the Internet. The reason? 'People will change their habits quickly when they have a strong reason to do so, and people have an innate urge to connect with other people, and when you give people a new way to connect with other people, they will punch through any technical barrier, they will learn new languages -- people are wired to want to connect with other people and they find it objectionable not to be able to" (68).

Forgive my presumption, but isn't the church especially created by God to provide the very connectivity that the Internet offers? If, as Friedman suggests, humans have an "innate urge to connect with other people," then we in the church are ideally suited to provide a connection point with God and with other people.