He’s not Heavy, He’s my Brother

By Travis Robertson

    The story is told of two brothers around three years apart. The older one was a popular 15-year-old and had an abundance of friends. His younger brother, 12 at the time, was less popular and a little awkward around people. The younger of the two boys had developed slower than most boys his age due to a medical issue. The doctors who had been treating the boy were not sure what was going on, but the young boy would have sporadic seizures. The older brother loved his younger brother and included him in everything he could.
    One day the older brother was going on a hike with some of his friends and as was his habit, the older brother invited his younger brother to go. Even though his friends tried to talk him out of taking his younger brother he did not give in and the younger brother went. The hike was going well, and they hiked all day. On the way back, the older brother began noticing his younger brother’s breathing get heavier and he was falling behind. His friends yelled back, “keep up, come on.” The Older brother signaled to his friends to keep going and assured them that they would catch up. The younger brother’s breathing progressively became more labored and now he could barely walk. The boys sat down to take a break and as the younger brother sat down he began to have a seizure.
    The older brother became extremely worried and helped control his younger brother, after the seizure stopped the younger brother was not responsive. The older brother picked up his younger brother and began running down the mountain knowing he had to get him help and fast. As he caught up to the other boys they noticed that something was wrong, they could see the younger brother lying limp in the older brother’s arms who now had tears streaming down his face. The other boys asked to help, to maybe take turns carrying the younger brother, the older brother just kept running. As the older brother passed them he yelled back, “he is not heavy, he is my brother!”
    As Christians we have a responsibility to bear one another’s burdens. When we are struggling we need to be able to go to our church family for help. We also need to be able to help those who are struggling. Paul tells the churches in Galatia, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). When a brother or sister is struggling we need to be willing to pick them up and carry them, helping them along the way.

- Travis Robertson preachers for the Lake Norman Church of Christ in Huntersville, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at http://lakenormancoc.org/