Dr. Scott Redd reminds us that bearing one another’s burdens goes beyond sympathy. It calls for active participation and deep empathy for the suffering of others. As a global church, we are called to share in each other’s joys and sorrows through prayer and meaningful acts of love and service.
The following is a transcript of the video above.
How can Christians bear the burden of other Christians?
As a global Christian body. I honestly say we can’t help but bear the burden of Christians around the world, whether enjoy or in suffering. I think there’s a way in which we share in this one spirit that is the spirit of Christ. And as a result, we are sharing in the sufferings not only of the global church, but as the Apostle Paul says, we’re sharing in the sufferings of Christ. We have to be ignorant. We have to turn away from that reality for it not to be the case. So I think maybe that’s the beginning point when we talk about sharing in one another’s sufferings and bearing one another’s burdens. We’re not talking about this kind of distant well, I feel sorry for you kind of sympathy. Right? But we’re talking about coming alongside one another and actually bearing one another’s burdens because we identify with each other.
The Family of God
I remember that God identifies with us going all the way back to Genesis 12. He tells Abraham, Those who curse you, I will curse those who bless you. I will bless. He’s saying, I identify now with this person for the first time in human history. God identifies with this person and his family. That is true of all of us, and the church we identify as God identifies with us. We identify with one another. Now, how can we actively bear the burdens of the church? I think there are things we can do. One of them is to be aware, both by paying attention to the news and paying attention to those outlets that alert us to the sufferings of our fellow Christians. But perhaps more important than that is just listening, being able to listen, being able to hear the people who are in our context of the Lord in His providence, have brought into our church communities, in our communities and the cities in which we live, and being able to actually listen and to hear. I think that it’s hard for a lot of Christians today to stop talking and to listen and to be able to absorb what’s going on outside of their own experience. And then, of course, I think we do need to come alongside other Christians and people who are suffering and helping them out.
Prayer and Service
We often hear on social media about how Christians saying that they lift up thoughts and prayers is really just an excuse not to do anything. And, of course, that’s the exact opposite of the way that it’s taken within Christian communities that thoughts and prayers are offered because we believe thoughts and prayers matter. It’s the prayers that matter, right? But those prayers do need to be backed up with activity. And I think that’s why you actually find that if you look at any society, it’s the Christian populations that are giving the most to philanthropy, that are supporting the most of the ministries and the ways of helping those who are struggling in their societies. Now, that’s not a pat on the back. That’s an encouragement for us to do that more. If you find your heart drawn to someone in prayer or to a group, then don’t squander that. That might just be the voice of the spirit that draws in you to be more involved in that area. We’re not disembodied heads merely offering prayers, but the Lord’s given us resources, whether physical, financial, relational or political, that we can go out and steward to the benefit of the kingdom.
