'Man's heart is never large enough to hold either its joys or its sorrows.' - Charles Spurgeon
I do not know that those words have ever felt as true as they do at this moment. Our stories and suffering have been given for sharing.
Our illusions of self-sufficiency have ruptured under the weight of each individual having to think outside themselves when it comes to quarantine response. And even the most introverted among us feel the ache of grief accompanying the loss of regular gatherings of family, friends, co-workers, and fellow worshipers. With the ever-flowing stream of statistics and fear, we can feel it. It is too much to bear.
We cannot carry the weight of this life on our own. But because Christ has taken our sin, suffering, and death upon Himself, the weight is no longer ours to carry (1 Pet 2:24). In fact, we are invited to come to Him - the One Whose yoke is easy and burden is light (Matt 11:30). And because Christ has carried us and our burden, we too can ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal 6:2).’
I have no idea what life after COVID-19 will look like, but I hope that we will emerge as people who have learned to deeply bear the burdens of one another as Christ bears us up.
‘Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.’ Ps 68:19
Lord, in the confusion of our world, would You continue to bear us up. May we emerge from this time with hearts that have been carried and learned to carry. In Christ’s name, amen.
Carried,
AB