Back to service…Bonhoeffer speaks of what it means to “bear with others.” This section is fascinating. Not what I have often thought of when I’ve thought of bearing one another’s burdens. If you’ve never read Life Together, I urge you to read at the very least the chapter on “Service.” I have highlighted almost all of it in my Kindle. Listen to what DB says and think about it. Who is a burden to you? What does it look like to bear with him or her? A few more thoughts tomorrow…
“Third, we speak of the service involved in bearing with others. “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). Thus the law of Christ is a law of forbearance. Forbearance means enduring and suffering. The other person is a burden to the Christian, in fact for the Christian most of all. The other person never becomes a burden at all for the pagans. They simply stay clear of every burden the other person may create for them. However, Christians must bear the burden of one another. They must suffer and endure one another. Only as a burden is the other really a brother or sister and not just an object to be controlled. The burden of human beings was even for God so heavy that God had to go to the cross suffering under it.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
