The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Bearing Burdens" for Sunday, 8 May 2016 with Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

The Upper Room Daily Devotional from Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Bearing Burdens" for Sunday, 8 May 2016 with Scripture: Luke 10:25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, “Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” 26 But Yeshua said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.”[Luke 10:27 Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18] 28 “That’s the right answer,” Yeshua said. “Do this, and you will have life.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, “And who is my ‘neighbor’?” 30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
33 “But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took out two days’ wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I’ll pay you back when I return.’ 36 Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the ‘neighbor’ of the man who fell among robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Yeshua said to him, “You go and do as he did.”
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Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.[Galatians 6:2 (NRSV)]
I had lived in Spain for five months, teaching in a school for missionary kids. Although I’d been welcomed by the families there, my lack of free time kept me from knowing them well — until I came down with a contagious viral infection.
Not wanting to burden anyone, I tried to care for myself. But after nearly fainting in the doctor’s office one day, I broke down in tears. Phil, my driver and head of the school board, listened to my woes: guilt over deserting my job; loneliness for friends and family; and the inability to cook proper meals for myself. When I finished, he handed me a tissue and promised to help.
That night, one of the missionaries delivered a stack of movies. For the next three weeks someone visited daily with a hot meal and then stayed to do my laundry and chat. Looking back now, those weeks provided some of my best memories of my time in Spain.
I will always remember those kind people. And I will also remember the lovely lesson I learned from them: one of the purposes of the body of Christ is to bear one another’s burdens.
The Author: Sara Matson (Minnesota, USA)
Thought for the Day: I was sick and you took care of me (Mattheww 25:36).
Prayer: Compassionate Father, is there someone whose burden you want me to bear today? If so, help me to notice that person. Amen.
Prayer focus: THOSE WHO ARE ILL---------------------