Text:
Colossians 3:12-15
July 29, 2012.
INTRODUCTION:
1) The loads Dolores was
carrying:
As Dolores was driving along a narrow country road, she noticed that a car was
following her rather closely. She could almost feel the irritation of the
driver in the other car as she drove slowly and cautiously navigating several
turns. Of course the other driver had no idea of knowing that Dolores was
transporting 100 pounds of mashed potatoes, two crock-pots full of gravy and
many other food items for a children home supper, enough to feed 200 hungry
children. As Dolores sensed the frustration of the other driver, she thought,
if he just realized the fragile loads I am carrying, he would under-understand
why I am driving like I am.
2) The loads others are
carrying:
Immediately after Dolores had that thought, another thought came to her mind:
How often am I impatient with people when I have no idea of the fragile loads
they might be carrying. How easily we pass judgment on others, assuming that we
know all the facts about a situation? God¡¯s word sends us in a more charitable
direction, instructing us to treat each other with kindness, humility and
patience. (Col. 3:12) How much more loving we could be if we understand, bear
with the loads of others and forgive each other. (3:13)
LIFE IS FULL OF LOADS: (Genesis 3:14-19)
1) We asked for it and we got
it: ¡°To
Adam God said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about
which I commanded you, ¡®You must not eat of it.¡¯ Curse is the ground because of
you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.¡±
(Genesis 3:17) All the loads or burdens we human beings had carried and still
are carrying are the fruits of evil from our sin or rebellion against God. This
is not only true to the sin of Adam, it is true of the burdens and pain
suffered by many people today because of their rebellious acts and attitude.
When we sin, we face the penalty. No exception, no bad luck and no injustice.
2) We have our different loads: ¡°To the woman God said: I
will greatly increase your pain and childbearing; with pain you will give birth
to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.¡±
(Gen. 3:16) Bible scholars ascribed that the pain of childbearing includes the
pain of raising children, not just the process of giving birth. With the
problems of youth delinquency runs rampant today, no one is surprised of the
pain mothers and fathers suffer from having wild children. There is some truth
in a Chinese idiom that says: ¡°We all have our different burdens to carry and
no two of them are the same.¡±
3) We don¡¯t know the other¡¯s
loads: ¡°So
the Lord God said to the serpent, ¡®Because you have done this, cursed are you
above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust all the day of your life.¡± (Gen. 3:14) If you wonder why
snake is the most hated and feared animal among all God had created, now you
know. Don¡¯t compare your load, pain or problems with that of another person.
Don¡¯t even think that the loads others have are lighter and easier to carry
than that of yours. We are not in their shoes and we don¡¯t know all the facts.
It is mostly inaccurate and not fair if we try.
4) We create loads on others: ¡°The ground will produce
thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. By the
sweet of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since
from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.¡± (Gen.
3:18-19) This is the curse on the ground and all live in it. Adam didn¡¯t just
make life so hard for himself; he made it hard for all generations to come. We
not just inherit loads from people before us, we may create loads for others
near and far. Our decisions and actions may create pain and suffering, on
purpose or not, for others around us.
WAYS TO HANDLE OUR OWN LOADS:
1) Getting to know the real
world: ¡°I
have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble.¡± (John 16:33) This is the concluding verse of a long parting
discourse Jesus gave to his disciples began from Chapter 13. Realizing the
trouble in the hearts of his disciples, Jesus tried to bring them some comfort
by saying, ¡°Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, also believe in
me.¡± (14:1) Even though we are children of God, we are not exempted from all
kinds of trouble this world has to offer everyone. If the disciples of Jesus
had to face troubles of this world, we should not be surprised when troubles
find their way to our face.
2) Know where you are heading: ¡°Blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or
sit in the seat of the mockers.¡± (Psalm 1:1) Although we are infested with a
depraved nature, it is the path we choose; the peers we associate with and the
life style we adopt that put us in the direction of peace or trouble, joy or
agony. King David gave warnings to his children and all readers by extension,
not to get close to evil people and dangerous condition. Many troubles we may
face are the fruits of our choices, either good or bad.
3) Know where you may unload: ¡°Cast your burden on the
Lord, and he will support you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.¡±
(Psalm 55:22) When we are exhausted of carrying our heavy loads, remember the
invitation: come to the Lord for his support. Let God either adds strength in
you so you can keep going with the loads, or let him take over the loads so you
won¡¯t have to be burdened. ¡°Not to be shaken¡± means will never fall, beaten or
crushed. Jesus calls us to ¡°Come to me all who are weary and heavily burdened,
and I will give you rest.¡± (Matt 11:18)
4) Rejoice for the experience: ¡°But He said to me: ¡®My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.¡¯
Therefore I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that
Christ¡¯s power may dwell in me.¡± (2 Cor. 12:9) No tree may grow stronger and
roots deeper unless it is beaten by strong winds. No fruit may grow beautiful
colors unless it is exposed to the heat and rays of direct sun light. If God
sees fit to allow us to carry loads, he has a perfect purpose to train us to be
fit for his use and glory.
WHEN OTHERS ARE UNDER LOADS: Under the loads means
under burdens, having weaknesses and problems, failure or not measured up to
requirements. We see people like this everywhere, even in the church. (Col.
3:12-15)
1) We need a new approach: ¡°And so, as those who have
been chosen of God, holy and beloved.¡± (3:12) By remembering our new identity,
as chosen people of God, holy and beloved of God, we ought to have different
attitude toward those who are under the pressure of heavy burdens, those who
don¡¯t measure up to what God requires of all his children. We need to remember
that all that we have and who we are, we are the beneficiaries of God¡¯s love
and grace. There is no room for pride or arrogance. Paul said: ¡°For who makes
you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? If, in fact, you
did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn¡¯t received it?¡± (1 Corinth.
4:7)
2) We need compassion and
kindness:
¡°Then put on a heart of compassion and kindness.¡± (3:12b) In 3:5-9, Paul wants
us to put off all the old nature and its filthy expressions. Here he asks us to
put on the new nature and its new expression. To have compassion, oiktirmos, is to have sympathy and mercy
toward those who are carrying heavy loads, the weak, those who are unable to
measure up to your standard. The Greek for kindness, krestoteta, refers to have grace instead of harsh in words or
actions just as God is kind and compassionate to us, sinners. If God grants you
more and better in someway, it is not for you look down or despise the weak and
the lowly.
3) We need humility and
gentleness:
In ancient Greek literature, tapeinophrosune,
humility, always have a negative connota-tion. It is until Christian doctrine
that elevates humility as an important virtue. It is an antidote for pride and
self-assertion that poisons relationships. Jesus urged his followers to follow
his example of being humble and meek. (Mark 11:29) On the expression of
humility in gentleness, prautes, we
are to be courteous, nice, full of sympathy to those who are carrying heavy
loads in their soul and life.
4) We need patience and
forbearing:
Patience, makrothumia, is needed to
treat those whom we think are slow, dumb, unwise, low achieving or not
teachable. For the need of mutual love and unity, we are to take care of the
weak, the slow and the outcast among us in the church and in the society to
help them stand up and keep going. If God were impatient with us, we won¡¯t have
any chance to become his children. Patient to others in their heavy loads is
the outward expression of inner spirit of forbearing. When we have a heart to
bear the burden of the weak and slow, we will express it in patience.
CONCLUSION:
1) Understand life with loads: It takes time to live, to
go through and to understand life with loads on ourselves and on others. Life
is never as rosy as we think or want. Problems, pressure, burdens and setbacks
are essential parts of real life. We may know our loads and feel burdensome.
But few of us are really able to know the loads of others who are traveling the
path of life with us. We need to do more than just bear with them, we need to
stand by them to help them carry the load for some distance. We are fellow
pilgrims to heaven and we need to make sure all will arrive safely. Paul says:
¡°Carry each other¡¯s burden and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.¡±
(Gal. 6:2)
2) Don¡¯t carry loads by
yourself:
If you are carrying heavy loads beyond your ability, there is a place you can
come to release the loads. Jesus invites you to come to him, ¡°Come to me, all
who are weary and burdened. And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me: for I am gentle and humble, you will find rest for your soul.¡±
(Matthew 11:28)