Galatians 6:2

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ ~ Galatians 6:2

We all know the story of the person whose burden was too heavy for him, and he found others in the same predicament. They then decided to put all their burdens in a pile in the midst of them, and they would pick up what looked like a lighter burden, only to find that carrying someone else’s burden was in fact heavier than what their own burden had been. They of course, returned the burden which was not theirs in favour of carrying their own. We are each responsible to carry our own burden, that is true, but the principle of carrying another’s burden is not opposed to the first. It is actually impossible to carry our own burden without sharing the burden that others carry. You see, the paradox is, that only by bearing another’s burden can we really bear our own. We were born alone, we are lonely in our great achievements, but we must rise to a life which is no longer our own. Our true life is found not in isolation, but in giving up our individual will in living for others. If I am to be human in the fullness of that word, I will care for others, and in my caring, find relief for my own burden. Helping you with your burden makes mine seem light, for I will then say to myself, my life could be much worse than what it is. It is in the sharing that our burdens become lighter, not in the keeping to oneself. Jesus daily carried the burdens of the people He met along the road, and He carries our burdens for us now. The law of Christ is to love others as ourself. We cannot do that when we live as an island, but only as we join ourselves with the bridge of sharing burdens.