Be honest here. How well are you at receiving help from others? For many, this is very difficult to do, but why? Perhaps you have a heavy object to unload and get in the house. Rather than asking for help, you might risk a hernia. Perhaps you are overwhelmed with caring for a loved one. Rather than receiving the offer for a friend to drop off dinner, you eat an unhealthy grab-and-go meal and also cheat them out of a blessing. Perhaps you are fighting addiction or anxiety and know you need to reach out for help. Rather than confessing your struggle to a friend or scheduling an appointment with a counselor, you keep the struggle a secret, and it continues to grow out of control.
Does any of this sound familiar? If we are honest, every one of us is guilty of some level of refusing to let others in. Many factors may contribute. Pride, shame, insecurity, embarrassment, guilt, and more keep us from living out our faith in a community and in obedience to God’s design.
Galatians 4:12-20 paints a picture of a local church that met Paul’s needs and rallied beside him when he was desperate. It also describes Paul’s intention to come alongside them in love to course correct the errors of their faith practice. While one is physical and the other spiritual, both demonstrate the design of God for believers to live in family relationships and carry one another’s burdens.
You may be on the giving or receiving side of this exchange, but we are all called to live this out and, furthermore, model the heart of the Gospel. Genesis 1-2 begins with a beautiful picture of peace with God and relational integrity. While sin is at the root of what erodes this design, we must remain vigilant to be intentional in our relationships with others and both give and receive as we share burdens.