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To fulfil the law of Christ we must know what that law is. Our Lord told us in simple terms that we can all understand (Matthew 22: 37-40) “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love, thy neighbour as thy self. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” These words are easy for us to speak but not always as easy to fulfil, both in our spiritual and our natural lives.

In the spiritual sense we bear a burden when we are not at peace one with another, and because of that, not with God. Often someone holds something against us and considers we have harmed them in some way by something done, or not done, said, or not said, and we are often not aware, except we see, and notice an uneasiness in our relationship. This is then a burden and according to our text we then must bear this one of another. The reverse could be we have done something against our neighbour without realising it.

Our Lord told the people while He walked on this earth, that what you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven. We see from this, that we have that power to ask Christ to loose others from something that they may be doing against us, which is building up a burden on their soul in the sight of God and He will loose that from them and hold it no more against them. They may never know until judgment day, but at that time, then to know all have been relieved from these burdens and that does not count against them, will certainly bring to light what Christ meant by the word love. A great example of this power is recorded in Acts 7:60 by Stephen when he was being stoned to death. “And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” All those burdens were born by Stephen and no doubt taken away from those stoning. It is a wonderful gift given us that we should all be cultivating. To bear one another’s burdens in the natural life is so much easier for us to relate to.

A news item of an event at the Seattle Special Olympics caught the attention of the whole world at that time and really highlights our text. There were nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, lined up at the starting line for the 100-metre race. At the sound of the starter’s gun, they all started, not exactly a dash, but with the excitement to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused, then they all turned around and went back, every one of them. One girl with Down’s Syndrome, bent down and kissed him saying “This will make you better!” Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood and clapped and cheered for fifteen minutes. This is a graphic example on how we can bear one another’s burdens as we run the race of life. If we can follow this example, we can only imagine the joy of all God’s children linking arms and crossing the finish line, with no one left behind and the even greater cheer that will go up by the heavenly hosts and that cheer will not be for fifteen minutes, but for eternity.