Caring One for Another

[speerjp1]

Galatians 6:2 says "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

The other week, I was asked to fill a pulpit on short notice. It was almost immediately that the Lord burdened my heart with the thought of caring for one another within the church. If we read further into Galatians 6, we find that verse 10 says that we should "do good unto all men, especially unto them who are the household of faith."

What about those who are in our very households, though? Should we care for them? Should we prefer them? Should we humble ourselves and consider their needs before we consider our own? These are all things we are commanded to do when it comes to the brethren. They are not suggestions.

Is your home a Christ-centered home in which God's word is esteemed as the basis for all? Is your spouse "in Christ"? Are your children "in Christ"? Are they your brothers and sisters?

Even if they aren't saved, you would be required to do good to them. But if they are, you should take special care to take every opportunity to do good to them.

Look at what Proverbs 3:27-28 says about doing good.

"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee."

If some good thing is within our ability to perform and is also present as an opportunity, then we are OBligated to perform it. It is no longer a matter of going "above the call of duty." (Think about how rarely, if ever, that statement could honestly and Biblically be applied to the Christian life.) If that good thing coincides with our ability to perform it, it has already become our duty to do it, if I may, "especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

What bothered me was the undeniable fact of the rarity of those teachings and, even rarer, the implementation of those concepts into the everyday life of believers. That led me to ask the question "why is there such a lack of active caring for one another and doing good one to another?"

The answer can be found in the answer to a more broad question: why do we humans lack in any area of our lives? It all boils down to a lack of love for God, most of all. A lack of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. A lack of love for the lost.

Since we do not have the luxury of being nuetral when it comes to love, those above mentioned lacks translate into surpluses of love in other areas. We often find ourselves with a surplus of love when it comes to ourselves, our comfort, our fun, our own man-made religious models and methods, worldly wisdom, and even lies born of Satan himself.

In short, the very things which often bring the most burden, the most likelihood of falling into sin, the most pain, the most suffering, the most heartache to our brothers and sisters in Christ and our own family members, those very things are too often the recipient of our love.

Make no mistake, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24)

We are often taught in God's word to love one another while at the same time we are commanded not to love the world nor the things in the world. It is an indication of the mutually exclusive nature of love. It is what makes God's love for us so powerful and so special: his love is not mingled with anything else.

In our homes, our spouses need the unfeigned love and support that comes from truly despising all that would hinder righteousness within the home and within each family member's relationship with God. Our children need the love that comes from hating the things that would take them into a life of heartache and misery.

How can we claim to love and care for our family if we are already in a loving relationship with the very things that would tear them, and us, apart?

Practice: Based on Biblical principle, make it a household rule that each member should always prefer the other before themselves. Study scriptures that teach humility, love, and selflessness. Set an example of caring servanthood within the home, so that it become the normal way to react outside of the home.

Experiment: The next time your spouse needs anything, do your best to do it for them or provide it for them. For example: if you are already in bed and your spouse remembers something that needs to be done, volunteer to take care of it and do it quickly. If you are sitting at the dinner table and there is no spoon for the corn, get up and get it. If your child is struggling with school work, volunteer to help them with it.

[CJP56]

No one is perfect but we should try to do these types of things for others without heaving a big sigh, rolling our eyes, or saying things that would make the other person feel bad about asking for anything, or for help with something. The Lord said that whatever we do for someone else in His name we do for Him. We could all pay more attention to the verse that says "And be ye kind one to another".

[blossom]

Another good devotion Johnathon!

[powelstag]

I heard a message from Jill Briscoe a while back, and she had a message about getting off the roof. It included an illustration of David on the roof when he saw Bathsheba. He had the option of getting off the roof; however, he stayed, and his lust materialized into further sin including murdering Bathsheba's husband. Often when faced with temptation, we have a way out; staying is what gets us into trouble. You used to struggle with something, and remembering "get off the roof" helped me a lot!