Galatians 6

Yesterday, we said that in order for the fruit of the Spirit to be produced in us we must be connected to the Spirit, and follow his lead. And in order for us to follow the Spirit's lead we must first be aware of his presence in our lives.

You might ask, "How do I become aware of the Spirit's presence in my life?" Well, I would say that your awareness of the Spirit's presence in your life is a direct reflection to your awareness of those who are closest to you. I'm not talking about your awareness of their physical presence. I'm talking about the degree to which you each feel "known" by each other. Let me illustrate using verse 2 of this chapter:

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Paul is not speaking primarily of external burdens. We know this because of the second portion of the verse. The law of Christ is a law of love, therefore he bears with us under our weaknesses, extending to us arms of sympathy and compassion as one who truly knows our infirmities. Jesus offers rest to our souls (Matt. 11:30).

I am going to suggest that the best way for you to be able to offer rest to someone's soul, is for you to have the kind of relationship that I described above, the kind in which you experience being known by one another. Think about it, if you have ever been hurt, or lonely, or experienced great sadness, there is little comfort in someone who simply wants to come in and "fix it." Fixing it would lift your burden, no? Actually no, it wouldn't. Because that's not really the burden, is it? The burden is the weight you feel from the hurt, loneliness, sadness, etc., and that burden is only lifted when someone shares that weight with you—when they feel what you are feeling.

So try this: the next time someone shares with you a problem they are having, ask yourself, "What are they feeling?" Unless they explicitly tell you to fix it, they probably don't want that. Most likely they are looking for you to connect with them in what they are feeling. This is the beginning of the process of knowing and being known, and it will open up new depths not only in your relationships with others but also your relationship with God.