If you've followed this blog for any length of time - or are a regular listener of 95.9FM weekday mornings from 10 to 11am - you've quickly learned that I am passionate about God's people getting God's word into their lives each and every day. I liken it to our daily diets, we can't fill our mouths with junk food and expect to be physically healthy and we can't fill our minds with junk information and expect to be spiritually healthy.

So why is this simple truth so hard to incorporate into our daily lives? We've all been there, we've all, with best intentions, decided to join a Bible study, decided to read God's word each and every day. We know, without a doubt, that His word is important! The decision to "just do it" is the easy part! The actual "doing it"..well, frankly, life often seems to get in the way!

Why is life so busy? Why isn't there enough time to do all the important stuff we know we need to do? Well.I think I've found the answer! And guess what.it comes from God's word! (surprised? =)

Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens."

Galatians 6:5 ".each one should carry his own load."

Huh?

That was always my response as I read that portion of scripture. It seemed like a contradiction to me! In one verse we're told to help each other out and three verses later we're told to handle things on our own. So which is it? Do it yourself, or expect some help? And the answer is.YES!

God's word is quite clear: we need to be responsible followers of Christ. Doing what we've been called to do and not expecting others to do it for us! It is also just as clear that we are to be there for others (and they for us) when the burdens of life are too heavy for someone to carry on their own.

Let me try to give you a word picture to help with this one: "load" - or "stuff" is another non-theological word we could use - it's the items on our to-do list, the "stuff" we need, the "load" we carry, the items that need checked from our list today.

Now, think about the items you can't leave home without.cell phone, debit card, all those important things.when you're ready to head out the door what do you carry your daily load/stuff in? A purse? A backpack? A basket? Your pockets? For this purpose lets say we carry our "stuff" in a backpack. It's the "stuff" that we see as vital to our day. The "stuff" that we have chosen. (job, home, hobby, relationships, etc.) These are choices we have made to carry with us every day.

"Burden" on the other hand is something that has been placed on us - we haven't made a willful choice to pick it up and place it in our backpack, in fact, it often won't even fit in our backpack! It's the stuff of life that has "fallen" on us.

Both items can affect the busy-ness of our lives, but one (burdens) is a temporary journey, even though often, when we are in the midst of it, it seems it will never end; and the other (load/stuff) is usually what we've allowed to become our responsibility, our daily duty. The things we have picked up along the way and placed in our backpack.

Today we are talking about the daily "stuff" of life, the stuff we've put in our backpacks - or allowed others to place there. The stuff that we've chosen to carry, to take care of, and to deal with! It's the items we would find if we detailed our day on a list. Think of each item as a stone.each stone we allow into our backpack can make the weight of the day a little heavier.

Each and every day we need to ask ourselves "Is my backpack too full?" Each day will have some "weight" to it, (weight training is heart-healthy!) but is it a healthy manageable weight to carry around?" Are we trying to carry more than our bodies were designed to handle? Have we allowed others to place their stones (not their temporary burdens, but their daily "stuff") in our backpack? Or are we only carrying the stones (responsibilities, daily duties) that God has placed in OUR lives?

It is a temptation to fill our backpack to the brim with all the "stuff" that we think we HAVE to have, we HAVE to do, we HAVE to be! The load on our lives is our responsibility to carry, but we only need to carry what God has for us, and remember, He will never give us more than we can bear. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The weight of our daily load will be impossible for us to carry without the help of the One who has designed us, knows the plans He has for us, and cares the most about us. The most important "stone" we can place in our backpack is a daily relationship with our Heavenly Dad! We will never know the "stones" (gemstones!) He has for us unless we are seeking Him, in prayer, in reading His Word, and in worship and adoration of and for Him!
And so my friends, I ask TODAY, have you spent time with your Heavenly Dad? Have you read His love letters to you? Have you looked upon His face and told Him how much you love Him? And if the answer is "no, I just didn't have time"...have you considered your knapsack is full of stuff He didn't put there?
Until next time.
Beth

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