"Every man shall bear his own burden... Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ...cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shalt sustain thee.'
Gal: 6: 5, 2. Psalms 55, 22.
ERE are three texts which at first sight appear contradictory and yet I would premise that as we study them we shall find that they are by no means in opposition one to another, but, rather, complementary. Let us consider them in the order in which I have given them this evening. First, "Every man must bear his own burden."
We usually interpret this text in its narrowest sense. We think of something which is peculiar and unshared, some cross that is laid upon'us and which we must bear alone.
It may be some physical disability or some temperamental weakness.
It may be some personal limitation or seme responsibility we have assumed. It is our burden and we must resign ourselves to bear it.
Of course, the text is capable of such an interpretation There are such burdens and in large measure we must bear them alone, and if anyone could claim the right to speak about such things St, Paul might, for he had to bear many trials and carry heavy responsibilities, In addition, as he tells us elsewhere, he had a disability which he calls his "thorn in the flesh," He prayed that it might be taken away, but God instead of taking it away gave him the promise of strength to bear it. He was told, "My Strength is sufficient for thee."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.