When we think of small groups and sharing, we somehow have this mental idea of a shallow conversation. [Show “Mixed Nuts” video[1]] Of course, we don’t like the opposite either. We don’t want complete strangers to approach us and then share their dark secrets. That would be scary! We also don’t want people to force us to share. But even with these fears, I pray that that would not stop us from joining a small group. We are called to BELONG, not just to BELIEVE. We are called not just to faith but to fellowship because when we became part of Christianity, we joined a community. That’s why we must CHOOSE to CONNECT. Open your Bibles in Galatians 6:2. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”[2] Let us pray…
When Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, the Gospel was under attack. During those times, there were people teaching that good works such as obeying a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” can bring us to heaven. But in Galatians 2:16, Paul wrote “that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” In the Good News Bible, it goes like this, “we know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires.” We are saved by faith in Christ, not by good works.
Other than that, another problem with the believers in Galatia was that they think they can live the Christian life on their own. But we are not only saved by faith in Christ, we also live by faith in Him. That’s the Good News of the Lord. That’s why Paul asked them, “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” In the Contemporary English Version, it goes like this, “Do you think that by yourself you can complete what God’s Spirit started in you?” Thus, the Galatians ended up becoming judgmental. They became proud. They became self-righteous. So, they criticize each other. They gossip against one another. That’s why Paul warned them, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other… Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”[3]
That is also the problem nowadays. We Christians are known for what we are against and not for what we support. People know us for our long list of rules. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. They see us Christians as people with a “holier-than-thou” or self-righteous attitude. They treat us as hypocrites. They think we judge people for doing what we ourselves are doing. They see us as having this air of superiority. And, there are times they are… right. They look from the outside in and they see us judging each other. That’s why they don’t want to become Christians.
That’s also why we Christians are afraid to connect. This is also one of the reasons why there are those who don’t want to join a small group. We are afraid to open up because we are afraid that people might think we are not “good” Christians when they see who we really are. We feel that people will only accept us when we live up to certain expectations or fulfill certain rules. So, we end up putting up a front. But deep within us we are actually hurting. That’s why there are people who prefer a big church. They want to be anonymous in the crowd. It is because they can just mind their own business there. They can walk in and walk out without people meddling in their personal affairs. Maybe that’s the reason why some of us here would rather attend the worship services only and you are not even entertaining the idea of joining a small group.
Yet, as I have said last week, the wall we put around us to keep people out is the very same wall that would keep us in. That wall that we think would protect us is the wall that would become our prison. But that is not what God wanted us to do as a family. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” We are to connect with each other. We are to support each other.
The word “burden” here refers “to heavy, crushing, loads…more than a man could carry without help.”[4] On our own we could be crushed with our heavy load of problems. But when we carry each other’s burdens, we could conquer it. That’s the concept of “bayanihan”[5] here in our country. One man alone cannot move a house from one place to another. But a group can carry that house on their shoulders.
But that implies that we must admit we need help… that we can no longer carry our problems… that we are about to be crushed under the weight of the burden we are carrying. That’s why we need to share our burdens with people we trust, with those who would help us conquer our challenges. I believe our small group is the best, safe environment we can do so.
There are times even pastors are afraid to share the struggles they are going through. We are afraid that people would lose their respect when they hear about the problems we are facing. I remember there was a time I shared to a group of couples that my wife Ellen and I had disagreements also. Afterwards, one couple approached me and told me how God encouraged them through our situation. They thought they were not “good” Christians because they fight. But, when they heard that even a pastor and his wife can have conflicts, they felt that they were normal. It is normal to have conflicts. Of course, you don’t go looking for a fight. But, when it comes, you don’t condemn yourself for having them. It does happen. It will happen. The challenge now is how we can resolve the conflict with God’s help.
Other than admitting we need help, we need also to be willing to give help. Look at verse 3: “If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” The New Living Translation goes like this: “If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.” All of us need help. There are times we end up thinking, “Why should I help? I need help myself.” But as our Lord Jesus commanded us, “do to others what you would have them do to you.”[6] We must help others even if others cannot, even if others would not.
Paul gave us an example here in the context of our passage. In verse 1 of Galatians 6 we read, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” The word “restore” means “to restore a broken bone.”[7] Restoring a broken bone requires gentleness. It is painful to confront. We need to care enough to confront. It is painful to be confronted also. That’s why we need to gently but firmly restore. That’s one of the burdens we need to carry with each other. Paul warned us that when we confront we are to “watch [ourselves], or [we] also may be tempted.” We should not be proud as if we would not commit the same sin because we are made from the same material. Warren Wiersbe wrote that, “Instead of trying to restore the erring brother, the legalist [or the self-righteous] will condemn him and then use the brother to make himself look good… The legalist rejoices when a brother falls, and often gives the matter wide publicity, because then he can boast about his own goodness and how much better his group is than the group to which the fallen brother belongs.”[8] But keep in mind we are as weak as they are. Yet that should not keep us from restoring somebody who has fallen into sin. We must still carry each other’s burdens. “Something must be laid aside if a believer is to be a burden-bearer and that is conceit, an attitude that breeds intolerance of error in others and causes one to think he is above failure.”[9]
Yes, when we help we take a risk. There are times people would not appreciate the help you are offering. They would even reject it. There are people who do not want to be confronted. Or, there are times people would accept your help. But they would not even thank you for helping. Helping others may strain our budget, eat up our time and drain our strength. Despite that, Paul encourages us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”[10]
Helping people can be overwhelming. There are just so many people to help. That’s why it’s good to be in a small group. It is because we may not be able to help everyone, but we can help someone in our group. We may be saying, “I won’t help anyone because I can’t help everyone.” We should not use that as an excuse not to help at all. We may not be able to help every person. But, as someone wrote, “Do for a person what you wish you could do for everyone.”
When we “carry each other’s burdens”, Paul wrote that “in this way [we] will fulfill the law of Christ.” What is “the law of Christ”? In Galatians 5:14, we read that “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” The Lord Jesus told His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” On the surface it appears that loving our neighbor and loving one another is one and the same. Why would Jesus call it a new command? Before, the standard was “Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.” But now the standard is “AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, so you must love one another.” That’s why it is called the law of Christ. He is the Lawmaker and He is also the Law-keeper. He is not a lawmaker-lawbreaker. He is our example. He is the standard. When we love one another, the world will know that we are His followers. Instead of them seeing Christians fight against each other, they see us fighting for one another.
Yes, brothers and sisters, we are commanded: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Choose to connect. Choose to care for others. Choose to be a part of a small group.
Let us pray…
[1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3y_hX0noR0
[2]All Bible verses are from the New International Version, unless noted otherwise.
[3]Galatians 5:15, 26.
[4]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:610.
[5]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayanihan
[6]Matthew 7:12.
[7]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, “An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire ‘BE’ Series”–Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Ga 6:1.
[8]Ibid.
[9]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:609.
[10]Galatians 6:9-10.
