What I hope to accomplish through this Blog and our podcast
If you take the time to look at our Bio’s, you will see that the three of us are uniquely different. We are all Christians, but we each have a different point of view on life. I hope that these differences will lead to meaningful discussions on each topic chosen for each week. The reason for the title of this Blog; “Three in the Fire”, is because we hope to delve into the hot topics that the church feels uncomfortable talking about. My prayer is that God will embolden us to speak the truth according to His word regarding these topics. I also pray that that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the Scriptures, so we have clear understanding. It is not our intention to argue or hurt anyone. Just as the three of us are uniquely different, I know that all of our readers and listeners are uniquely different as well. I know we do not all believe the same. It is never my intention to hurt anyone, so if I do, I apologize now. However, if the truth of God’s word hurts you, that is between you and God. I would love to work with you on this, but I will not force anything on anyone. Lastly, I hope the podcast enhances the discussions here on the blog. The podcast, I hope, will be a place where we can have dialogue guided by the questions and comments from our blog posts. Now, let’s look at our first topic.
What does Scripture mean when it says in Galatians 6:2 “2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” And is the church doing this?
The New American Commentary tells us; “The word for “burden” (baros) means literally “a heavy weight or stone” someone is required to carry for a long distance. [1]” This passage, to me, means we are to love one another so much that we want to help each other. If we are true to ourselves, we will admit that life is too difficult at times to try and go it alone. God knows that, so He included this passage in His Word. But by doing this, how does it fulfil the law of Christ? I believe John 13:34-35 (NKJV) gives us the answer; “34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”[2]” So, we are to love one another so much that we give of our time, we give of our resources, and we give freely of ourselves to help our fellow man through life. Likewise, we are to allow others to help us when things get tough. I believe it is pride that keeps us from asking for help, and selfishness that keeps us from offering it.
Sadly, I do not believe the church (universal)
succeeds in carrying this command out. We, in the church, tend to want credit
and accolades for our efforts. Therefore, we don’t tend to help unless it is a
grand production which allows us to be acknowledged for our sacrifice. Granted,
this is not true for every believer and is therefore not true for every church.
I speak in generality. We should seek to serve selflessly and fully.
[1] Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 413.
[2] The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jn 13:34–35.