If we are to experience perfect love driving out all fear, we must be more vulnerable than comfortable…

1Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. 2Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. 5For each person will have to carry his own load.

Galatians 6:1-5

We know perfect love is taking root when we will let others carry our burden of sin and we will help others carry their burden of sin.

Being vulnerable in this way frightens me. Because it frightens me, I have allowed sin to run around in my life much longer than it should. If I had someone else helping me carry the burden of my sin, I know I would have found the victory Jesus intended for me much sooner.

If we find someone who will love us perfectly, the fear of letting them see our sin will melt away.

Before standing up on stage ready to share your baggage to the entire world on YouTube, Paul gives us some wisdom in this process…

Find a spiritual person

Find someone you respect because of their walk with Jesus to help you carry the burden of sin. They must be able to point you to Jesus in the middle of your sin. They also must be able to not cringe when you share your sin with them.

The goal of this process is for you to become the spiritual person for someone else. When God restores you, find someone who can give you this restoration from their experience.

Find a person who doesn’t struggle with the same sin as you

It does not help anyone if you share your sin with someone else and the both of you end up tempted.

Find someone who has found victory over the sin you face. Or find someone who has never had serious temptation with the sin that you face.

Also, this person needs to be the same gender as you (if not your spouse). We do not need a new temptation because we’re being more vulnerable than what we should be with someone who is not our gender.

You want victory…not two people worse off than before.

Find someone who doesn’t think they’re better than you

Find someone who is farther down the road with their walk with Jesus, but don’t go to someone who thinks you’re weak because you sin.

This is why people don’t share their burdens to begin with. They are scared someone will treat them like an inferior person because they sin. And with good reason. The Church has a reputation for treating people this way.

Find someone who will gently restore you. Not beat you up based on their superiority.

Recognize the burden is yours to carry

Don’t find someone to help you carry the burden then blame them for your burden! We all are responsible for our own load…our own sin. Find help carrying the burden. Don’t turn on someone by blaming them.

What this comes down to is how serious we take our sin…

7Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

Galatians 6:7-8

Do we want to find victory over our flesh that Christ won on the cross?
Do we want to sow into the Spirit so we can reap the fruit of the Spirit?

The burden is too great for us to bear alone. We have to find someone else who can help us carry the load of sin. When we do this, we will find God’s tool of Community given to us will help us find the image God has for us.

The burden of sin is too great for us to bear alone. We have to find someone else who can help us carry the load.

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How has someone else helped you carry the burden of your sin?
Do you need to find someone who is spiritual who will help you carry your burden now?