Burdens

"This is cool!" said Weston as he and some other boys from church hiked through the woods. Sometimes they walked easily along the well-beaten trail, but other times they had to scramble over fallen trees or weave their way around them. "Hey, Lucas!" Weston called out. "Race you to that tree up there!" But as he started off he tripped on a tree root, and down he went. "Ouch!" he cried, grabbing his ankle. Their leader, Mr. Greg, hurried over as Weston got up. "I think I can walk okay," Weston said, gingerly testing his ankle. "It doesn't hurt too bad." "It'll be easier on him if he doesn't have to carry the extra weight of his backpack," said Lucas. "I'll carry it for him.""Me too," chimed in several other voices."Thank you, boys," said Mr. Greg. So for the rest of the hike, the boys took turns carrying Weston's backpack.At the end of the hike, the boys built a campfire and had a hot dog roast. "You know," said Mr. Greg, "what you boys did for Weston today is exactly what Jesus tells us to do for others. We all carry different responsibilities and problems in our lives, but if one of us has a load that's too heavy, the others need to help carry it until that person is able to handle it on their own again. You helped Weston carry his backpack, and Jesus wants us to help others carry their life's burdens. He carried our greatest burden of all--our sin--to the cross, and He offers us help and comfort whenever we're weighed down with life's struggles. When we help carry other people's burdens, we show them His love. What are some ways kids like you get burdened down, and what could a friend do to help?"After a moment, Weston spoke. "Some kids have trouble with tests," he said. "Maybe we could offer to help them study.""Yeah, and we could make friends with new kids at school and invite them to church," offered Lucas. "We could even try to reach out to kids who aren't always nice to us," said Pete. "And pray for them too."Mr. Greg nodded. "Good suggestions," he said. "This week, let's see how many burdens we can help carry for others." – Gayle J. Thorn