If you ever feel like throwing your back out, try moving a bouncy castle by yourself. Works every time. Our church has one, and it taunts me whenever we have a block party. “Just grab one other person,” it says. “You’re so big and strong. You’re basically the strongest person here. You could probably just lift me by yourself.”

It took several humbling block parties, but I know not to listen now. That inflatable weighs too much for one or two men to carry very far. When there are five or six, however, you can carry it across town. “I don’t feel like I’m helping all that much,” we say to one another as we walk to the destination. Heaviness dissolves when weight gets placed on a group of people.

A Weighty Command

Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:12

Think about what He was saying. Give yourself to broken, hurting, and sinful people. That’s messy and difficult and draining. It’s also exactly why we fell in love with Christ in the first place. He gave Himself to us when we were the most unlovable (see Romans 5:8).

The Weight Lifted

The word “you” in Greek is plural. In the South, John 15 would read, “Love one another as I have loved y’all.” He was saying it to the church. These people were transformed by the life of Jesus and yet they still struggled with pride, lust, and selfishness.

He knew they could not carry the weight alone. It’s why He died to redeem them. It’s why He sent the Holy Spirit to empower them.

The church must not forget the measure in which she is loved and empowered. Together, as the body of Christ, we really can represent Him well in every social sphere. It’s a weighty call and life’s burdens tend to keep us from moving forward, but Scripture is clear about what we are to do.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Galatians 6:2-3

 How can we love the helpless and harassed? How do we comfort the brokenhearted? How should we embrace awkward situations? The same way we move a bouncy castle. Together.

If you think you’re “something” and can lift it alone, don’t be surprised when you throw your back out. You’ve deceived yourself. Instead, allow your burdens to be carried by those who have been indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and help bear the burdens of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

As we do, the Kingdom will be advanced. The broken will be restored. And we’ll look at each other and say, “I don’t feel like I’m even helping all that much.”