Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
The Bible says,... "Bear one another’s burdens" (Gal. 6:2). Although this involves "standing on our heads" together—sharing each other’s pain, it does NOT convey the full scope of these verses.
One involves sharing a load; the other involves removing a load. Actually, two words are used for "bearing" in the New Testament. One word could be construed to mean standing beside a brother or sister in times of need to strengthen and comfort.
The other, however, means something entirely different. The first one, anechomai, means "to sustain, bear or hold up against a thing," much as a person would tie a stake to a tomato plant to sustain it from the weight it carries. The strength of the stake is transferred to the plant and thus "bears it up."
When the Lord commands us to bear with one another in Colossians 3:13 and Epheisans 4:2, He isn’t simply saying, "Put up with one another." Although He is telling us to do that, He is also saying, "Stake yourselves to one another."
In other words, we’re to come alongside a weak brother or sister who is "weighted down" and say, "You’re not going to fall and be broken or destroyed because I’m staking myself to you. My strength is now yours. Go ahead, lean on me. As long as I can stand, you will."
(Sheets, Dutch. 1996. Intercessory Prayer. Ventura, CA: Regal Books. pgs 61-62)
The first one, anechomai, means "to sustain, bear or hold up against a thing"
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of how we encourage each other in our fight with evil and temptation, when without our knowledge that others have the same values as we do, we might have a tendency to wilt and give in.