Fill a bucket with water right to the top. See how many steps you can take with your bucket before some of the water splashes out.

Sometimes our lives are just like that. We carry burdens like over-filled buckets in our hearts, our minds and our souls that wear us down, and with the least provocation, what we are carrying splashes out. These burdens may be doubts, misgivings, fears, guilt, suspicions, or any number of things that keep us from being at peace with ourselves and one another.

Even if you think you are pretty good at keeping your bucket from losing its load, why carry it unnecessarily? You don’t get extra points for that.

In all the earth, what group of people should be the absolute best at making it easy for the weight of such burdens to be shared, or even be completely removed? Among what people should we feel the safest and actually be the safest, if we should let some of the water splash from our buckets?

Who but God’s people? Is that you? Is it me?

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the churches of Galatia, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2.

There it is. How do we fulfill the law of Christ? We bear each other’s burden. Things may get a bit uncomfortable. Passions may arise. Strong feelings may come to the surface and we may not be used to such “unpleasantness”. But what are we? Are we the Lord’s saints, or are we just some nice religious folks? Toughen up, Buttercup.

The apostle had just written previously of the fruit of God’s Spirit (5:22-23). How many of the Spirit’s characteristics do we display when helping ease a brother’s burden? Love? Patience? Kindness? Faithfulness? Gentleness? I’d say at the very least we are living out these five.

So let’s welcome one another’s buckets. It may be that by sharing them, we can, with God’s help, rid ourselves of them completely.