He’s Not Heavy, He’s My Brother

“And his commandments are not burdensome.” ~1 John 5:3

You probably recognize this iconic image of the solider carrying a wounded comrade over his shoulders. It’s quite moving to contemplate the love one must have for his friend to say, “He’s not heavy,” especially when you consider the weight of a man in full battle gear. Each of us has this reality living deep in our hearts, don’t we? Parents who would give up their lives without hesitation to save their child. Spouses who would do the same for one another. Even children who would give up anything they could for the good of their mother or father. I have a friend who donated half of his liver for a stranger! This and other examples are a reflection of Christ’s words in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

I wonder why it is, then, that we find some of Christ’s commandments so burdensome. If you and I would throw a dear friend over our shoulder to carry him out of danger — all the while saying, “He’s not heavy, he’s my brother” — why do we act like Christ’s commandments weigh too much for us sometimes? I suppose the problem is that we don’t think of Christ’s commandments properly. Most people tend to regard commandments as “orders” or “prohibitions,” neither of which taste particularly sweet to the palates of our autonomous hearts. But the Bible has a completely different perspective on Christ’s commandments.

Think with me for a moment about Genesis 1:28. In this text we find the first commandment issued by God to His moral creatures: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Did you catch it? God’s very first commandment to His people — be fruitful and multiply — is a blessing! God blessed them by telling them to obey His commandment. In other words, all of God’s commandments are blessings to us! The person who obeys Christ is abundantly blessed. He or she will certainly be living in the best way, with the cleanest conscience, and for the greatest glory, which is God’s.

If you struggle with obeying God’s commandments, it might be that your thinking about them needs to be taken captive by Christ’s mind, which is yours by union with Him (Phil. 2:5). Rather than considering Christ’s commandments as “orders” or “prohibitions” or “rules,” remember that they are blessings! Each and every one of God’s commandments are a blessing (even the one you struggle with the most!), which is why they are sweeter than honey and more valuable than gold (Psa. 19:10).

His commandments aren’t heavy, they’re a blessing!

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Associate Pastor