Keith shares his thought for the week; he ain’t heavy.
An unusual thing recently happened in our street. A rescue vehicle needed rescuing! It had broken down, couldn’t be moved and so the company had to send another rescue vehicle to pick it up. Sometimes all of us need help to get through life.
Sometimes in life, all of us need to have a little support. The wonderful thing about being a Christian and part of a church family is that we have a network of believers around us who are cheering us on and helping us. You know Jesus reminded us in the New Testament in Mark chapter 12 that the two most important commandments were firstly to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, in other words, everything you have. And the second command was to love your neighbour as yourself.
See the love for others has to come out of the love that we’ve experienced in God. I’d go as far as to say it’s impossible to show love to others unless we fully have accepted the love of God into our lives. And then things begin to change. Throughout the New Testament, we have what theologians call the one-another scriptures. These are the New Testament’s way of unpacking what it means to love one another. Someone’s counted up to 23 of these scriptures and they cover things like how to love one another, how to encourage one another, how to instruct one another, and even how to rebuke one another. And as I looked at that rescue vehicle being rescued I was reminded of one of those one-another scriptures. What does love look like when it’s outworked in our lives?
In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 2 we read,
be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2
Now we might think that bearing with one another and being patient with one another has to do with just putting up with people we don’t really like. Well, there might be a small part of it but actually, there’s more to it. See our word bear can also mean to carry one another, to lift up someone who is struggling. You see none of us are Superman. Most of us realize that there’s more Clark Kent in us than there is a superhero. All of us from time to time are going to need help. I look back through my Christian life and I’m thankful over the years for those who have helped me, who have literally at times carried me in my Christian walk to help me make it where I am today. And as I look back I look at those who I have also carried and helped through their Christian life and through their journey.
We need each other. None of us are called to live in isolation. Someone once said that they don’t need to go to church to be a Christian and the Bible teacher answered them and said well you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian but if you want to be a strong one you have to go to church. See we need each other. So my thought for this week is very simple. Maybe you’re struggling a bit at the moment. Maybe you’re the one that needs a lift. A pick-me-up someone to come alongside you, to encourage you, to carry you.
I’d encourage you to seek out the help, advice and prayers of a trusted Christian friend. But maybe you feel okay. Maybe you’re like “Hey, I’m a spiritual warrior. I’m doing great at the moment.” Then I would encourage you to actively look for those around you who you need to lift up and encourage to bear one another. See our rescue vehicle it’s going to go back to the workshop. The problem will be investigated. They’ll fix it, they’ll test it and they’ll put it back on the road. When we need bearing up or when we bear others up it’s not a permanent arrangement. These things are temporary. When we come back into the house of God, we come back before God, we’re examined, we’re fixed up, we’re tested and we’re put back into the Christian life.
May you be one who lifts others up this week. God bless you. you
Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.