We’ll Give Our Own Account

Verse of the day: Galatians 6:4-5 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.

Reading the beginning of this chapter can be confusing if we do not stop and think about what God is telling us here. Verse 5, if we skim the verses, seems to contradict verse 2 where the Apostle says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” In actuality, in context, these verses do not contradict each other at all. This section of Galatians refers to how we are to treat those who stumble in their walk with Jesus, and how we are to respond to them. Sadly, it is very rare today to find Christians that are compassionate toward those who still struggle in their relationship with the Lord. There are those of us who feel the weight of that one sin that burdens us and seems to cripple our walk with Christ. Too many Christians secretly suffer and struggle because they are afraid of how their brothers/sisters in Christ will respond to knowing that they have a weakness. In speaking to a number of hurting, and often lonely, Christians, I have found that their biggest reason for feeling this way, myself included, is the fear of how the church family will respond to finding out that they struggle with a particular sin. May I say something here? We ALL struggle with something. Whatever sin I may struggle with may not be the same as yours, but that does not make either one of us more of, or less of, a Christian than the other. That is the point of what the Apostle is trying to communicate in this passage. He tells us in the first couple of verses that when we encounter a fallen brother or sister, we need to first examine ourselves and approach them, and their situation, with humility, and be ready to have compassion for them, helping them to get right with the Lord and be restored to fellowship with God and his/her fellow believers (v. 1-2). Verse 3 reminds us that we must be humble in the estimation of ourselves. To think more of ourselves than we should is to deceive ourselves, and God has a way of allowing us to stumble ourselves so that we will come face to face with our own weakness and vulnerability in our walk with Him, if we become too proud (v. 2). The overwhelming message in this passage is that for the sake of giving our own account before God someday, we must be careful about how we treat one another today. We are called to support and help our struggling brothers/sisters, when God gives us opportunity, but we must do so, keeping in mind that we have our own struggles, and will give account for our own life and how we served God and others by helping them when they were in need of being lifted up and restored. 1 Corinthians 3:8 reminds us that we all labor together, but we are rewarded individually. So, when we help one another in our burdens, we do it cooperatively, but when we give account for how we did that, we will do it individually. Each person will be held accountable for their own attitude, whether done with pride or humility. Psalm 62:12 tell us that the Lord will render to every man according to his work. Matthew 16:27 tells us that Jesus will return with His angels, and reward every man according to his works. 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the things done in our body, in accordance to what we have done, whether good or bad. The bottom line is that we must be ready to lift each other up when we stumble. We must be ready to speak kind words of encouragement to one another when we find each other losing the battle in our personal struggles. We must, in love, correct one another, but do so in humility, realizing that any one of us can find ourselves in the same position; and someday we will stand before God to give an account for how we treated one another, when we struggled most, and while the world was watching. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus did not condemn us nor did He shame us when He came to be amongst us. Instead, He dealt with us with compassion, and laid down His life to help us overcome our imprisonment to sin and death. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).