he ain't heavy, he's my brother

artwork by Krista Hamrick

When I first saw Krista Hamrick’s beautiful work of art, the sound of The Hollies’ 1969 song He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, began to play in my heart. The first time I heard that song, I was 16 years old, the new kid in 10^th grade at Sebring High School. I walked up the steps alone on that first day, I had felt alone most of my life. Adopted at four months of age, I had been an only child until my adoptive parents adopted my little brother from different biological parents when I was 12. We moved eight times in the seven years from 1961 to 1968, and although I felt greatly loved by my adoptive parents, I was reminded often that, “if there had been anything wrong with me, they could have given me back.” My empathy for children with special needs was born with that awareness. What if there had been “something wrong” with me, where would I be now?

I made friends quickly in my advanced classes at Sebring High, becoming one of the editors of the school yearbook my junior year, and being elected as the first female president of the student body my senior year. At the same time, we had a sweet neighbor, Ralph Shuckford, who was an adult with developmental disabilities. I would often think as I spent time with him, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” I led Bible studies at my church before school, and was a volunteer with a community group that planned parties and special events for mentally handicapped adults in Highlands County on the weekends.

It was a natural progression when I completed two years at the community college to major in exceptional student education. I was a participant in a college student group which completed the “Admitted-for-a Weekend” immersion program at the Sunland Training Center near Gainesville. I was brought in and admitted on Friday as if I was one of the mentally handicapped adults in one of the cottages with locked doors and house mothers. I was told only to observe and not speak for the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, we had a debriefing session, and I wrote my reactions to the weekend as a stream-of-consciousness term paper for my college English class, entitled, "open."

During all these experiences, the song, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother was my anthem. Now all these years later, after earning a BA in exceptional student education and a M.Ed. in gifted education, serving in various teaching and supervisory roles in education, and as a staff liaison for a church ministry for children with special needs, the lyrics still ring true for me… The road is long, with many a winding turn that leads us to who knows where, who knows where. But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him, he ain't heavy—he's my brother. So on we go, his welfare is my concern. No burden is he to bear, we'll get there. For I know he would not encumber me, he ain't heavy—he's my brother. If I'm laden at all, I'm laden with sadness, that everyone's heart isn't filled with gladness of love for one another. It's a long, long road from which there is no return, while we're on our way to there, why not share? And the load, it doesn't weigh me down at all…he ain't heavy—he's my brother. These precious memories prompted me to do a word study on the scripture reference in Krista Hamrick's artwork, Galatians 6:2…

NASB: Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Amplified Bible: Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].

Expanded Bible:  By ·helping each other with your troubles [L bearing each other’s burdens], you truly ·obey [accomplish; fulfill] the law of Christ.

The Message: Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.

The Voice: Shoulder each other’s burdens, and then you will live as the law of the Anointed teaches us.

Pastor Wayne Barber writes: “When individuals begin to choose to walk by the Spirit, willingly led by the Word and by the Spirit of God, what does this look like in the body of Christ? God’s love in us initiates divine action. Now, not humanistic action, but divine action; there’s a difference here. In Galatians 6:2, Paul gives a command. It’s helpful to remember that even though it is a command, it’s also the response of someone who’s walking by the Spirit. See, God’s commandments are not burdensome. You don’t struggle with them when you’re walking by the Spirit because God lives in us to will and to work. Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will,” God in us gives us the desire to say yes to Him, and then “to work for His good pleasure.”

In Galatians 6:2, Paul gives this command, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” Now that’s present imperative. Imperative simply means it’s a command. In other words, there’s no option here. This is what happens when you walk by the Spirit. This is the response. Bear and keep on bearing one another’s burdens. Now why would Paul say that under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God? Well, he’s already told us, because we’re family. And that’s the way family treats one another.

The word for "bear" is the word bastazó. Bastazó comes from the word meaning to support, to hold up. Here it means to get up under a heavy load that your brother has and help him bear up under that load. Help support him. Matter of fact, the apostle John uses this particular word to describe Jesus bearing up under His cross in John 19:17. It says, “They took Jesus therefore and He went out bearing His own cross to the place called the place of the skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.” So the idea of bearing up under something that’s heavy. That’s the word bear one another’s burdens. Do what you have to do, Paul says, to help support your brother when he’s under a load that he cannot handle himself.

The word “burden” is the word báros. Báros means the felt weight of a heavy load on someone. Now there’s another word that means to bear something, but this one always is used to describe not just the bearing, but the heaviness that’s on top of you, and you’re trying to support the weight of something. Paul doesn’t tell us what that heavy load is and I’m really grateful for that, it could be anything. He leaves it open-ended. For whatever reason, he cannot bear up under the load that he’s under. So Paul says instead of ridiculing him, instead of ignoring him, help him recover by helping him bear his burden. It’s a beautiful thing when you see this happen in the body of Christ. That’s what Paul’s talking about. This happens to all of us when we begin to walk by the Spirit. We see each other’s need. We don’t see it when we’re walking after the flesh, but when we’re walking by the Spirit, we begin to see the need of the individual and God begins to put that burden on us to help them bear up under a load that otherwise they could not bear. This is Christ in us making us sensitive.

Now this act of love fulfills the law of Christ. Paul says in Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” What law is he talking about? In Galatians 5:14 he told us what that law was, the law of love. It says, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” That’s the law he refers to. That law is being fulfilled when it’s manifest in an individual who’s walking by the Spirit of God and reaches out to help a brother bear up under a load that otherwise that brother could not bear. It’s a command given by the One who fulfilled it Himself—the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to us when we were under the load and the weight of sin. We could not help ourselves. He paid a debt He didn’t owe; we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. And that’s the whole picture. He says, He even told His disciples, “Greater love hath no man but to lay down his life for his brother.” What He did was to manifest what He now wants to manifest through us. He is the source of that love. He now lives in us. It’s Him in us reaching out to others. He expects nothing less than what He did. He expects nothing less; therefore, He lives in us to enable us to do just that."

How can we avoid becoming discouraged when we deal with overwhelming tasks and challenges, including individuals with special needs, in the world around us? We can successfully keep running our race with endurance and not burn out only by fixing our eyes on Jesus. Our faith, our ability to be a blessing to our brothers and sisters, or to accomplish anything at all of lasting value depends on Christ from start to finish. When we lift our eyes to the all-powerful, all-loving God, we can commit our way to him and receive his assurance that in God’s time we will reap what he has richly prepared for us—a harvest of blessing—as we daily draw fresh strength from his inexhaustible supply.

Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me that I can do nothing apart from You. You are my life, my strength, my salvation. I give myself to You anew each day and ask that Your resurrection power restore my joy and renew my vision for the special needs of those around me daily. Truly, there, but for the grace of God, go I. In Your precious name I pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Galatians 6:2

Look In—as you meditate on Galatians 6:2 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on Galatians 6:2 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

Weekly LinkUps…