The Law of Love

Paul writes: "But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted" (Galatians 6:1).

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 10:13. It alerts us to how God will help us when we are tempted. I have quoted it to you often. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

What we forget is the verse that immediately precedes this. It is a warning to those of us who have become a bit arrogant in our own self-righteousness, forgetting our vulnerability to temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:12 reads: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

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You have heard the phrase, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

It is easy to forget what God has done for us.

One of our church members sent me a note with this little paragraph titled "What is it like to be a Christian?" "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

The difference between grace and legalism is a constant reminder that it is God who has brought the transformation in us. He picked us out of the garden patch and did the cleaning up. We didn't do it. The minute we begin to claim the credit, we are vulnerable! We are sliding into works righteousness.

Third, the law of love carries another's burden.

Paul writes, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).

I confess a spiritual malady of my own. If I am not careful, I can become preoccupied with my own burdens. I have them. We all do. There is not one human being alive who doesn't have his own backpack of burdens, real, authentic, bona-fide burdens.

Through the years, I have discovered that the best way to lighten my own load of burdens is to help someone else to carry their backpack of burdens.

For example, there is nothing that breaks my heart more than to think of the loss of my daughter, Suzanne, in the prime of life, 23 years old, back in 1991. My initial inclination when I hear that someone else has lost a child is to pull away. It is too much to bear. It just reminds me of my own loss; but when I break through the sound barrier and say, "God help me to be at that person's side and help her, help him bear the burden of their loss of a child," then something is transformed within me.