Together in Christ: 'Lifting Burdens, Not Adding to Them!' — Galatians 6:2

Earlier in this letter, Paul summed up the "whole law":

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ^[1]

As people in Galatia argued about the place of the Torah and the Jewish law in Christianity, Paul was emphatic that no one would be justified and made right with God by keeping the law, but that justification comes only by grace through faith. ^[2] But to help both Jew and Gentile find a practical way of getting along and living authentically as Jesus' disciples, Paul reminded them to love their neighbor as Jesus had commanded them. ^[3] If we must love our neighbors who are not believers, surely we should demonstrate our love for our brothers and sisters even more. We should share each other's burdens. We should lighten the load on each other. We should help each other.

Rather than loading people down with more to do, we should lighten their load and find grace together in following Jesus as Lord. ^[4] Rather than flaunting our freedom in grace, we should use grace to be patient and understanding with each other. ^[5] Despite our differences in culture, heritage, practice, ethnicity, language, and traditions, we are all people for whom Christ died. ^[6] Therefore, rather than quarreling, demeaning, or attacking each other, ^[7] we should bear each other's burdens, lift each other's loads, and share each other's struggles and show that we are Jesus' disciples ^[8] as we demonstrate our genuine love for each other by our actions! ^[9]