Day 18

August 24

Denise Deahl

Galatians 6:2 NIV

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Everybody knows the world needs changing. I don’t know anyone who thinks our culture is moving in a good direction. I do know the solution though. The answer comes in knowing Jesus Christ, believing that we, Christians, are capable of accomplishing the change needed, and joining together to fulfill the law of Christ, loving one another. I can walk alongside you and encourage you, and I can ask you to do the same for me, because that’s part of carrying each other’s burdens. That’s what Christians have been doing for two thousand years! 

The early Christians were living and loving like nobody else. I didn’t just make up this solution. I try not to re-create the wheel, when someone’s already created it for me. You can find it yourself, in the Bible, God’s Word. The first Christians dealt with very similar situations, but the scenarios they faced in transforming the culture and changing the world were even worse than those we face today. What’d they do? They lived differently. They lived and loved and worked differently than everyone else around them. They watched out for each other, even despite individual differences, as opposed to everyone fending for themselves. They lived in such a way that, today, we might say it’s too good to be true or there’s got to be a catch. 

Christians today can inspire every person we touch with simple acts of generosity, kindness, patience, thoughtfulness, and selflessness. There is nothing more attractive than somebody actually living the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is amazingly attractive to all men and women, always has been, always will be. This fulfills the law of Christ ~ love one another.

The world needs changing! The first Christians changed the world. They had something the people of their time needed and wanted. When someone became a Christian during those early years, they became part of an active community that provided both spiritual and practical benefits and protections. They redefined their lives by allowing the teachings of Jesus to rearrange their priorities and they did it together, as communities. So, both as individuals and as communities, they were living life in a very attractive way. Whose burdens are you carrying today? Are you allowing the teachings of Jesus to rearrange your priorities?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, help me to recognize and carry the burdens of my brothers and sisters in need today and so fulfill the law of Christ. I want the world to know I am a Christian by your love expressed through me.

Amen.