“Woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” (Luke 11:46, NIV 1984).
My Musings – People may say to us, “I don’t even believe in God, in your Jesus, why should I care about what the Bible says?” The short answer to this question is: if there is no God, if Jesus is not who He said He was, there is no compelling reason to care what the Bible says about the burden of sin. If there is no God, there is no sin against Him. If there is no sin against Him, then Christ was just a man who died for no good reason. If Christ was just a man, then our belief and hope in what the Bible says He died for is in vain. Consequently, “[loading] others down with burdens they can hardly carry” is unnecessary and is no better than whatever the prevailing mores, human rights and social justices are at any given time.
My Advice – But What if there is a God? What if Christ really is who He said He was? Then we know for sure that the burden of atoning for sins against God are burdens no one could ever carry. If they were, then why did Christ have to die for them? So, rather than loading others down with heavy burdens that we know we were never able to carry ourselves, we should at the very least lift a finger to point them to the grace and mercy of the cross. Because, if these what ifs are true, then the what ifs about Heaven and Hell are likely true too.
What if? The stakes are too high, the burden too heavy, to not consider the what ifs.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30, NIV 1984).
The Brew Is A Musing 