What is the Law of Christ?

Bretheren, If any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also. Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. For if any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another's load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.
Galations 6:1-3

What is the Law of Christ?

Galations says “Bear (endure, carry) one another's burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it]. Most modern Christians have never even heard of this. But as we read in Galations it seems that Paul writes about it in such a way that implies that it was a well known concept in the early church. Yet Christianity has become so individualistic in the US that we have forgotten this corporate part of our worship. These concepts need to be reintroduced to the body if we desire to be healthy.

The concept of caring for one another in a very intimate way is so foreign to the modern church that while we are on the mission field we often introduce the concepts slowly. We begin with practical application and move into more spiritual ones as time passes.

For example as we get new missionaries we pair them up with partners. They will go into the communities and travel with this person. They live together, eat together, everything. In the jungle we have to keep a close eye on hydration. So that is the first task they are given. They must know how many liters of water their partner has drunk that day. They are supposed to drink 3 liters a day. If their partner does not drink their water and gets dehydrated the fault lies on the partner not the person. Their leaders will ask them often, “How much water has your partner drank today.” If they do not know, or have not been checking/watching there are usually push-ups involved. So we have to force this concept of caring for one another upon them at first.

The second step is caring for wounds. The jungle/mountains and missionary life in general can be rough on the body. If the injuries get ahead of you, you can get in real trouble. So we put the partners in charge of each others bodily health. If your partner has a blister or cut; you must know about it, and you are responsible for cleaning and dressing the wound when necessary. If your partner has diarrhea you are responsible for diagnosing what kind and administering treatment. If you are sick your partner is responsible for diagnosing what kind of sickness you have and how to treat it. We have found that this works significantly better than caring for oneself. If you have a cut, you usually are a little too gentle when cleaning the wound. A partner will do what is best for you and not be too concerned about the pain. If you are sick you really need an outside perspective for diagnosis. We tend to overstate our situation and misread symptoms. A partner is more objective. This gets people into the mode of admitting they need one another. This is an important step. We westerners are so accustomed to trying to go it alone, we have lost the fundamental concept of communal life and relying on one another for the health of the entire group.

The third step is teaching them to share their spiritual wounds and struggles with one another and allowing these too to be healed by their partner or more often by the body of Christ. This normally includes lots of confession and healing of wounds that have festered and hindered spiritual growth for years or more.

Why we don’t do this. Well, usually it stems from pride. We do not want help. If God and I can’t handle it I will just act like everything is okay. We are not used to sharing weaknesses and struggles in the western church because it goes against our culture. But it is central in the Culture of Christ, so it must be reintroduced to the body. The problem is that we can not carry one anothers burdens until we know what they are. We must foster an environment of transparency in order for this to begin to open up. We have to begin to ask with sincerity and respond with concern to the needs of our brothers and sisters. If someone shares a struggle or difficulty it should be one of our main focuses until that problem or issue has been resolved.

These burdens could take many different forms. They could be practical burdens: lacking money to pay bills or buy groceries, unable physically to do certain chores or responsibilities, recovering from an injury or illness, etc. They could be emotional burdens: struggling with depression or lonliness, marital problems, uncertity in direction of life, etc. They could be spiritual burdens: oppression, lacking direction, etc. If we know of these burdens we must come together and figure out ways to carry them for one another. Sometimes it is a whole church effort, and sometimes it is a personal/individual effort. But if we return to this practice we may once again be known for how we love one another.

As time goes on this begins to bleed out of the circles of the church and into the community and the world around us. And we see his church begin to fulfill our mission in this world