What Christians Are Supposed To Do (Part 1)

Galatians 6:1-5 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.”

When General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was an old man, he was invited to address a large convention of Army workers and volunteers. When it was determined he was unable to attend, he was asked to send a greeting instead. The message he sent went like this:

“To the delegates of the Salvation Army convention:
Others.
Signed,
General William Booth.”

Verse 2 of our text says a similar thing: “Bear ye one another’s burdens.”

John Abruzzo is alive today because his friends took that verse literally. At 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, September 11, he was working on the 69th floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. That’s when the first hijacked plane hit the north tower. Seeing the flames and debris filling the sky, everyone scrambled to evacuate the building. Everyone, that is, except John Abruzzo. A quadriplegic since a diving accident 17 years ago, there was no way he could make it down 69 flights of stairs by himself. Eight men and one woman stayed behind to help him. Easing his 6’ 4”, 250-pound frame into a special sleigh-like device that itself weighed 150 pounds, they began to take him to safety. It wasn’t an easy trip. After they had descended a few stories, the south tower shuddered when the second hijacked plane hit it. Soon the stairwell was filled with hot smoke and panicked workers racing to escape the doomed building. When they got to the 20th floor, after an hour, they heard a roar outside. It was the sound of the north tower collapsing. The lights in the stairwell went out. When they reached the lobby, it looked like a deserted war zone: broken windows, smoke, debris, doors on their hinges, furniture overturned, and no one in sight. As they exited the building, a fireman urged them to run for their lives. They followed the crowds to a high school three blocks away. Ten minutes after they left the south tower, it too collapsed.

Looking back on his experience, John Abruzzo hardly knows what to say. He is alive because his friends carried him to safety. If they hadn’t, he would be among the 6,000 still missing. “We all had our lives to lose,” he mused. “What they did … I don’t know. Do you just say thanks? I don’t know what to say to them.”

There is one ministry that any believer can perform and it doesn’t require special training. It’s called “bearing one another’s burdens.” If you have the heart, and the time, and the desire, you can be a burden-bearer for those in need.

In our text Paul explains two ways we can bear the burdens of those around us. As we study this text, keep in mind that these ministries are not reserved only for leaders or pastors or elders or teachers. If you love the Lord, and if you are willing to get involved, if you will take a risk, you can be a burden-bearer for Jesus.