BURDENS, A MEASURE OF STRENGTH.
By Charles T. Everson
WE have often seen a family go forth for an outing. And we have noticed that the strong father is well loaded down, while the mother carries her share, and each child in proportion has a lighter burden down to the baby, who, rather than carrying anything, is itself carried. The burden born by each indicates the strength of the bearer if placed by a person that is capable of judging correctly. In giving a heavy burden to a member of the family the father thereby says to that member, You are strong. A lighter burden indicates a less degree of strength. So when we find that we are carrying heavy burdens, it ought to be a source of encouragement to us. The Lord apportions our burdens according to our strength. Now strength is what we want and not weakness. As the load grows heavier, it shows that we are increasing in strength. For burdens administered by a true hand are a measure of an individual's strength. Therefore, when the burdens grow lighter, it must be because we are growing weaker. We have, perhaps, also observed when a family starts off for an outing that at the outset very often the smallest member of the family will pick up a very large package, for he feels himself stronger than he really is. Then it is necessary for the father to take the bundle away from him and give it to a stronger member of the party; for otherwise the little child would wear himself out in a short time and lose all the blessings of the day's outing. So sometimes we pick up the heavy burden that the Father has assigned to some one else, and we lose our blessings by attempting to carry more than God has given us. We should not sigh to carry the burden that God has assigned to another member of the family, for another's burden might gall us, but ours never will, for it fits our condition. But we may be sure that as we grow stronger it means added burdens, for God is using to its utmost capacity every available means for the salvation of mankind. But the promise is that as thy day so shall thy strength be. In other words, a day of burdens is a day of great strength. But it may be suggested that Christ says that His burden is light, not heavy. This is true; and yet we remember that Christ carried the heaviest burden that has ever been borne. For it says that "the Lord laid upon Him the iniquity of us all." Altho He carried such a heavy burden, yet He could say that "My burden is light." These statements would seem to be contradictory at first thought; but let us consider what gives weight to anything. We are told that objects have weight because the atmosphere presses down upon them at so many pounds to the square inch. This pressure is the result of the weight of the columns of air extending upwards for many miles. Another factor that contributes toward giving weight to objects is the power of gravity that attracts things earthward. These two factors are said to give weight to any object. Now we can readily understand why Christ's burdens were light, for He lived in a heavenly atmosphere where the air was light, and, consequently, the burden was light. Furthermore, the power of gravity or the power to attract earthwards was reduced to a minimum in the life of Christ. The perceptible weight of a burden is not measured by its size, but by the atmosphere in which the hearer lives, and the strength of the power that attracts him earthward. When we have heavy burdens, therefore, we do not need a lessening of the burdens, but a change of atmosphere and a release from the power that draws us earthward.
Rome, Italy.