“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5for each one should carry their own load.” – Galatians 6:1-5
Lots of good advice here about how we Christians can and should get along with each other. We’re to walk in love and quit comparing ourselves to other believers. The Christian life is a Spirit-filled life, but He won’t lead us to judge another follower of Jesus. Yet don’t be surprised if He compels us to rescue a brother or sister who’s failed God.
When that happens, we should be grateful for the privilege of restoring a fellow Christian. It’s too easy, especially in this toxic social media culture, to accuse and criticize. But Jesus wants us to mend souls, even those wounded by their own poor decisions. Rather than wagging our fingers and pointing out flaws, we are to reach out and repair damaged people. This is more than a nice thought; it’s Christ’s law for His church!
As encouraging as this passage is, it looks like the apostle Paul got something mixed up. Both verses 2 and 5 refer to bearing burdens, but one contradicts the other.
The former verse reminds us to help out others while the latter suggests that everyone’s on their own. So what are we supposed to do? Carry the burdens of others or refuse? Help out or look on?
The verb “to carry” is the same in each verse, but the object carried differs. In verse 2, it’s baros and refers to a heavy weight, something cumbersome and difficult to manage. But in verse 5, the word is phortion, and in context is best translated as “responsibility.”
There’s only so much we can do to serve people. We can relieve them of the burdens crushing them, but we can’t deliver them from their duties to God.
Ministry has boundaries and we do well to respect what the Lord has instituted. The consequences are real, but we can help people learn from their mistakes and grow in Christ.
God’s wisdom teaches us to discern healthy boundaries. Learning how to operate with love and grace within those parameters, we know when to intervene and when to back off.
It’s commonplace in fields as diverse as business, sports, and education for people to push unbridled optimism. They encourage us to overcome our restrictions, achieve breakthroughs, and claim that nothing is out of reach.
If it sounds too good to be true, what’s the alternative? Actor Vincent Price warns that “A man who limits his interests, limits his life.” Who of us wants a limited life? Don’t we all seek after prosperity, fulfillment, and success?
According to French oceanographer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” In this line of thinking, we don’t have to accept our limitations. If we don’t like the way our plans are unfolding, we need only imagine better ones and we’re on our way to realizing a delightful future.
We can’t afford to neglect positive thinking. Bruce Lee, the most famous martial artist of all time, says that “If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
The chief value of limits, if they exist at all, lies in superseding them.
Limits
But Rich Villodas, lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York, takes a different approach. In his opinion, “Many of our limits are gifts to welcome, not obstacles to overcome. We were not created to transcend every limit, but to allow our limits to bring us to God, connect us more deeply to each other, and purify our hearts from ego-driven desires.”
Is he right? What does the Bible teach us about the restrictions which we fear impede our entitlement to self-fulfillment? How does Jesus want us to handle them?
Background
When God created the first human being, He put him in the most blessed of condition conceivable, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8). As great as that setting was, the man was alone, so the Lord addressed this issue by performing a bit of surgery on Adam. Knocking him out, God removed one of his ribs and fashioned it into the first woman (Genesis 2:18-25).
God called this happy couple to enjoy and fulfill two key responsibilities: exercise dominion over the planet and have children (Genesis 1:27-28). In these ways, human beings would glorify God.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation and fell away from God (Genesis 3:1-8). In short order, sin spread like wildfire. Things got so bad that God had to start over from scratch by wiping out most of what He created but sparing Noah, seven members of his family, and as many animals as he could squeeze into the ark (Genesis 6:5-22).
As Adam and Eve birthed the human race, so Noah’s family rebooted the world. Before long, people multiplied and, true to fashion, sought independence from God. To correct this, God confused the languages of the earth. Whereas everyone had spoken a single language, there would be several. Suspicious of those whom they could no longer understand, folks clung to those they could and distanced themselves from everyone else (Genesis 11:1-9). The world was now divided by linguistic, cultural, and regional differences.
Limitations.
Why did God do this?
The observation of Pastor Villodas cited above reminds me of the apostle Paul’s comments to the residents of Athens:
“He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” – Acts 17:26-27 (NASB)
I emphasized the three words in this passage that refer to limits. Paul argues that God uses our limitations and restrictions to lead us to Himself.
Determined
The Greek verb horizo occurs eight times in the New Testament and of these verses, six of them are in Luke’s writings (one in his gospel and five in the book of Acts). The word conveys the idea of defining something. When we look up a word in the dictionary, the entry will tell us what a word means, but we can also learn what it doesn’t mean by what’s left out.
So it is with us. God defines us by situating us in circumstances in which we learn our need of Him. So much lies outside our control! How can we change the unpleasant things? Who will secure for us the good things that have come our way? We chafe at forces we don’t govern. We worry that the outcome of our lives is somehow carved in stone.
But when we seek the Lord within these limits, we discover His presence and power.
Appointed
The Greek verb protasso occurs seven times in the New Testament, but only in the gospels and Acts. Most of the time it’s translated as “commanded,” suggesting the idea that God dictates our station in life.
For some, this is great news! The wealthy, the powerful, the connected–their days stocked with blessings. But others face trials, injustice, and rejection. God’s plan?
Not the final word! Again, Paul tells us that God arranges our lives for us to seek Him. His goal is for us to meet Him.
Boundaries
The third word is the Greek noun horothesia which is found only in Acts 17:26. Picture the boundaries on a map or a fence with border guards and you get the idea of a circumscribed region.
God has placed us in areas where we need Him if we’re to survive and thrive. The Lord is not interested in treating us like wind up dolls that He cranks up and then lets them go off on their own. No! He wants us to want Him! In the midst of everything we deal with, we have the opportunity to discover the presence of an awesome God who loves us with undying affection.
Application
This is not a candy-coated perspective on the restrictions we and others struggle with. The heart of the gospel is that God became one of us. In Jesus, God entered into our time and space. Born in a particular time in a specific country to a designated people, Christ submitted Himself to a life of limitation. Yet in the midst of it, He walked with His Father and fulfilled God’s plan of salvation.
Limitations are real, but they’re not final. Through Jesus Christ, we have the chance of connecting to the God who can work wonders in us and through us.
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