December 09, 2003
We Need Each Other
A couple is having marital problems...
A friend is battling cancer...
Another friend and her husband have both lost their jobs...
A single mother struggles with Lupus and the financial crisis of being unable to work...
A home school mom faces discouragement...
These stories are all real. This is life in 2003. Families are falling apart. Illnesses are rampant even among young people. Though the economy is gaining momentum, people are still facing unemployment issues. And yes, home schooling can certainly be discouraging at times.
The bottom line is that we need each other. None of us can be the Lone Ranger in this life. (Hey, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto and Silver!) We weren't created to "do" this life alone. How do I know this? Well, I've tried it, for starters. But even more compelling than that, God discloses our need for one another in the pages of His Word...
"Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." --Exodus 17: 8-13 (NASB)
Moses was sent by God to do a job. He was given the tools with which to do the job. Even so, he could not do it without the help and support of his friends. If Moses couldn't do it alone...well, you do the math! In my estimation of things, this is a crystal clear picture to us of how we are to be there for one another.
Paul heartily supports this theme as well, in Galatians 6:2, telling us that we are to :
"Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." (NASB)
I recently shared a burden I was carrying with a friend. The simple words she spoke to me ("I'm praying for...") was enough to lighten my load a bit. "They" say Two heads are better than one, but I say a burden shared is a load lightened. It's a phenomenon that defies explanation--how by sharing my burden with someone else, it instantly becomes easier to bear.... But that is just how things work when brothers and sisters in Christ "do life together." That's what being part of the body of Christ is all about [1 Corinthians 12:27].
So the next time the cares of this world (or the stresses of home schooling) begin to weigh you down, call upon a friend you can trust--a brother or sister in Christ--who will gladly bear the burden with you. Then stand back and watch in amazement as the load becomes lighter. The situation may not change at all, but the weight of it sure does get easier to bear when someone is there to help you carry it--and especially so if they help you carry it to the Throne of Grace. Then you'll be able to carry on with the job God sent you to do....
Posted by at December 9, 2003 10:14 PM
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Comments
Thank you. Right are right, my friend! How can we see the power of God if we stifle it by always saying everything is fine?
You ARE a blessing!
Posted by: Ro | December 18, 2003 01:07 PM