“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2

It’s one little sentence, but it packs a whole lot of punch! Let’s explore it a little more…

“We should carry one another’s spiritual burdens by helping one another in our soul struggles. There should be real fellowship, and we should converse with one another. We who are joyous might often lend some of our sunbeams to those who are in the dark. And we ought to do so. It would be to our own profit as well as the profit of others.”

Sunbeams in the Dark – Charles Spurgeon’s notes on Galatians 6:2

I came across this beautiful quote by Charles Spurgeon the other day. The concept of being someone else sunbeams is really what community is about.

Carrying each others burdens and helping others with their confusion, lack of understanding, frustrations, and misguided assumptions is a vital reason why Christ teaches us to meet with one another. It’s about learning together, gaining wisdom and understanding alongside each other, and then helping to carry each others load’s and walking through this journey called life together.

Spurgeon goes on to say ” There should be real fellowship…” What does real fellowship mean to you?

The dictionary puts ‘fellowship’ this way:

“friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests.”they valued fun and good fellowship as the cement of the community”

Similar to: companionship, companionability, sociability, comradeship, fraternization, camaraderie, friendship, mutual support, mutual respect, mutual liking, amiability, amity, affability, geniality, kindliness, cordiality, intimacy, social intercourse, social contact, association, closeness, togetherness, solidarity, chumminess.

So, I guess it means being in community with others. In common-unity. I have written about this before, but somehow, it keeps coming up – I think maybe God keeps giving us gentle little reminders because being in community is just that important.

Further, Spurgeon says “…and we should converse with one another.” I don’t know about you, but sometimes making a quick call to my bestie and blurting out all my confusing feelings and thoughts about a particular matter; or talking things through with my husband, helps me sort the things out that are muddling around in my head. Communicating with them always seems to make me feel a million times better than I did before. They help me gain some much needed perspective.

We were never meant to do life on our own. By our very nature, humans were created to be united with others. It’s the way we were designed. People helping people. Together in unity. Strengths of one covering over weaknesses of the other. Working together, playing together, creating together, living together, laughing together. Helping each other, carrying each others burdens, lifting each other up, cheering each other on. Community = Life!

This statement of Spurgeon’s though, is the real clincher for me: “We who are joyous might often lend some of our sunbeams to those who are in the dark.”

What a beautiful picture this represents. The people who have joy, who’s burdens are light, might lend some of that joy and light to those who are struggling to find their way. So that those in darkness may see and follow the guiding light. How wonderful!

Can you picture it?

Are you part of a community? If your burden is heavy, who are you leaning on for support? If your burden is light, are you sharing your joy with others who are struggling? How else can you lend your sunbeams to someone today?