Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Basilea Schlink
The Burden of the Seed
If you looked at the life of a seed, it’s a hard life. You both miss the soil and die by exposure to the sun, you find the soil and then you die of thirst, or you get eaten by a bird, but that’s not a bad option. The seed that’s swallowed can pass through the bird and be dropped from the sky and planted and even an acorn falls from a tree but a deer hoof buries it deep when it steps directly on it with its hooves. That seed passes through much burden but produces a bountiful harvest in time.
Stresses for Strength
Years ago they decided to make a biosphere which was to be a self-contained center where nothing from the outside would be needed. All the food they would ever need would be grown inside so everything they would need would be included inside the biosphere, but the problem was the plants and trees were dying. They discovered that if there were no winds inside the biosphere, the plants wouldn’t be fertilized and the trees would die. It seems that the lack of stress on the trees made them fragile and they began to die…so stresses and strains cause us to grow and prepare us for eternity.
The Refining Fire
The Apostle Peter wrote that though we’ve “been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1st Pet 1:6b-7). Gold is not as precious until it has passed through the fires and burnt off all the dross (impurities). So it is with the Christian’s life.
Seeking Rest
When we are overburdened with the weight of the world we need to find rest. The burdens can be good in the sense that they make us seek God. Jesus says to all; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). God is not looking for self-sufficient people; He is looking for people who will come to Christ and unpack all their baggage and depend on Him.
Bearing with one Another
The Apostle Paul didn’t want the church at Galatia to try and live the Christian life as a solo act. It’s not really possible so he writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal 6:2-3). Paul points out that if we think we’re really something, they we’re really nothing. We need one another. As they say, “A joy shared is doubled but a burden shared is cut in half.”
Conclusion
Basilea Schlink is so right by saying, “Every burden prepares you for eternity,” and God is preparing us right now, this very day, for an eternal glory that we cannot even fathom (Rom 8:18) but in the meantime, trust God because whatever happens is for our ultimate best (Rom 8:28).
