“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.… For each one shall bear his own burden” (Gal 6:2, 5).
Alexander Smellie, chronicler of the Scottish Covenanters, tells of one of Christ’s noblemen imprisoned by Claverhouse on lonely Bass Rock. The motto on his coat of arms read, Sub pondere cresco: “I grow beneath the load.”
Shirkers and workers: that pretty much sums up the options. And these two statements pretty much sum up the two-fold responsibility of the believer. We are individuals, unlike sheep in a flock or cows in a herd. God has entrusted to each a unique gift, opportunity, and responsibility. It is mine alone, and I should not try to foist it on another. But we are not only individuals; we are members of a Body, and as such we ought to come alongside our brothers and sisters to help them bear up under their load, too. Here, certainly, are matters for prayer—for strength in bearing my load, then for eyes to see and a heart to help others with theirs.