Dallas Willard wrote in his book, The Divine Conspiracy, that instead of random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty we as Jesus Followers ought to “practice routinely purposeful acts of kindness and deeply intelligent acts of beauty.”
In other words, where a random kindness might bring a smile, purposeful kindness can change the world.
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, this whole idea is made practical…
Brothers and sisters, if a person is caught doing something wrong, you who are spiritual should restore someone like this with a spirit of gentleness. Watch out for yourselves so you won’t be tempted too. 2 Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2 Common English Bible).
At the heart of Paul’s instruction is the hope that followers of Jesus will demonstrate lovingkindness (I love this King James phrase) as they seek to restore wholeness to the lives of others. Though Paul is talking specifically about how people in the redeemed community should treat each other, the underlying principle holds true for how we should treat others.
This thought of sharing each other’s burdens can seem so countercultural. We live in a very individualistic culture. We have a tendency to live our lives as self-sufficient as possible.
We trick ourselves into believing this is a good and healthy way to live… until we can’t.
This week as we look at sharing one another’s burdens, I invite you to think about the ways others have journeyed alongside you during life’s difficult times.
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you felt lost or unable to think clearly? Has life been so difficult, you didn’t want to get out of bed, or you had no idea what to do?
How did it feel to have someone else journey alongside you during that difficult time?
This Sunday, there will be an opportunity for you to share a story about when someone stepped in and helped.
It is my hope that we can become more comfortable with sharing our stories with each other.
I read this week that when we focus on sharing each other’s burdens we enter into a loop of lovingkindness (there’s that word again) between God, others, and ourselves.
That is a loop I want to be in.
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
