Jesus doesn’t discriminate with regard to whose burdens He will carry—and neither should we.
Luke 10:25-37
25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
In Matthew 22:39, Jesus tells us the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. The best way to demonstrate care for relatives, friends, neighbors, and church family is to follow the Lord’s example and bear their burdens. Not only did the Savior take our sin debt upon Himself at Calvary; He also shared in the hurts of those who sought His comfort: blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46), the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11), and those who were demon-oppressed (Matt. 4:24). Jesus doesn’t discriminate with regard to whose burdens He will carry.
We are often tempted to be selective in choosing which acquaintances to help. According to Jesus’ example, we cannot bear someone else’s burdens based upon whether that person has lived up to some standard we have set. There are people who will never dress like us, hold opinions similar to ours, or share our interests. But those same people might be hurting and in need of somebody to help carry their difficulties. A genuine expression of godly love can transform the life of a person weighed down by struggles.
Even when we understand that lifting the weight of someone else’s load fulfills the law of Christ, Christians are frequently tempted to pass such responsibility to a pastor or Sunday school teacher. But the Lord intends something different for the lives of His children. Our unique experiences equip us to help in ways that the pastor or teacher—who have different experiences—cannot. Ask God how you can begin to help bear the burden of neighbors who are hurting.
In Touch Ministries
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