Leave the TV on a newscast for a few minutes, or a mobile device on a video, or discover the latest injustice shared on a social media platform, and you’ll probably leave feeling a little discouraged.
The world as we know it is upside down. It at least feels like it. When we see others going through periods of uncertainty or unfairness, it is hard to wrap our minds and hearts around a potential action that could make a difference at a moment’s notice.
From time to time, when faced with a dark world full of brokenness and sadness, we might find ourselves asking, “Am I truly making an impact?”
Sometimes even our sin issues cause us to feel drained and discouraged.
As followers of Christ, there are steps we can take toward making a difference in our homes, our families and our communities, and Galatians 6:1-10 provides insight.
Bearing one another’s burdens
Growing up, I didn’t have close friends. Now, my adult years consist of weekly phone calls and text messages to multiple friends.
I’m grateful that the Lord gave me a manageable number of friends. I can intentionally make time with each person I talk to, offering prayer, a word of advice, or even just comedic and insightful anecdotes and stories that stir up nostalgia.
What comes with those relationships, however, are burdens. A few months ago, a friend of mine and his wife mourned the loss of his wife’s mother.
My wife and I took time to laugh and cry with them and encourage them. They did the same for us when my father passed.
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Not long after that, a college friend of mine experienced a tragic loss in his family that led to a three-hour road trip to visit and sit with him.
Bearing one another’s burdens is key to desiring to keep doing good. For starters, it keeps me focused on serving someone other than myself.
Most people are already very good at serving the self. The challenge is in taking time to walk in somebody else’s shoes, sharing a moment of empathy and compassion for people, and loving people where they are.
When we live by the Holy Spirit, not only do we find ourselves able to restore others “gently,” but we also can fulfill the call to bear one another’s burdens.
To restore means to mend what is broken. Believers have an opportunity—in love—to restore someone who is going through trouble or dealing with sin issues impeding their walk in the Lord.
At the same time, Christian believers shouldn’t walk around with a sense of accomplishment and self-righteousness.
They would dare not compare themselves to those going through trouble or assume that they are doing or living better than those in peril.
“Sow” what?
When I was younger, I considered reaping and sowing comparable to how much I played video games versus how much I studied.
The more I spent playing video games, the worse my grades would get.
Further study of reaping and sowing, as shown in Galatians 6:7-8, provides an even deeper, consequential explanation: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (ESV).”
To “sow” means to plant where you desire to grow through scattering.
The consequences of sowing to the things of the flesh are corruption, ruin or disintegration.
Like everyone else, I am in a daily fight to decide what’s more important—my phone’s notification ping or the conversation I’m having with someone, the chores at home or time with my family and friends, and the list goes on.
And in every moment, I’m learning to say, “Lord, not my will, but yours.”
When we sow in the spirit, we experience the joy and privilege of reaping eternal life.
Consider James 3:18: “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Don’t grow weary
While it is easy to grow tired of doing good, the results of doing the things God calls us to do reap a harvest worth waiting for.
The word of God reminds us to “not give up.”
We can be encouraged to continue forward by remembering the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross and the visible, spiritually fruitful lives of believers who are doing good daily to others.
To avoid growing weary, look for opportunities to do good to others, especially others who are in the faith.
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