LOVING ONE ANOTHER...XI

Stir up one another.

 It’s dangerous to get complacent about your faith. Get out of your comfort zone and help other people get out of theirs. 

Do all you can to inspire and challenge others to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead each day and take creative action in the specific directions the Spirit leads them. Meet with other Christians regularly and talk with them often about what’s most important to them, and why. 

Invest your time, money, or talents in some of their causes. Let go of an attachment to the familiar, the past, a desire to control, or anything else that stands in the way of pursuing something new that God is calling you to pursue.

 

LOVING ONE ANOTHER...X

Bear one another’s burden.

Accept the reality that following God’s call to bear other’s burdens will be costly, inconvenient, and disruptive. Ask God to help you do so anyway. Be available and flexible when He leads you to help bear someone’s burden. Seek to help burdened people take responsibility for their problems and get back on their feet, rather than fostering dependence on you. 

Hold them accountable for their attitudes and actions while providing the support they need to grow. Realize that it’s not possible for you to help everyone you know who needs help; God only expects you to help the people He leads you help – and only in the specific ways He guides you to help them. Pray for discernment about who you should help, and how. Combine a sympathetic attitude with good judgment. As you help others, keep in mind that you’re not superior to them. When someone helps you, remember that you’re not inferior to them. Realize that everyone needs help at various times. Let your shared experiences of helping and being helped deepen your love for the fellow believers around you.