Last time, we took a look at several verses related to bearing one another's burdens. I promised that this week, I would take those same verses and comment further, after using a study Bible, so let's see what we find out! I am using the Quest Study Bible as a source.

Verse 1: Paul refers to believers who have evidence of maturing and his invitation to restoration helps keep us humble, too.

Verse 2: One way we can help others is to remind them of their righteousness in Christ and that they don't need to carry the guilt of their mistake.

Verses 2, and 5: the study Bible clarifies that "burden" refers to something too big for one person to carry, while the word "load" refers to something manageable. Isn't that neat? We are to help those who are under an overwhelming burden, yet as individuals we should be willing to bear what is unique to us...we have some responsibility for our own load.

Verse 4: Paul is talking about a healthy pride, a reasonable self-esteem because of who we are in Christ. An appreciation of God's grace is primary.

You see the value of using a study tool along with your reading of God's Word? While the Holy Spirit is our teacher, and tools are written by humans, they can be helpful in determining meaning and interpretation. In particular, the difference between the two words "burden" and "load" help us see things more clearly in this passage.

If you've studied this passage using another tool, share it with us!

Note: you may be wondering why I didn't blog about the famous "fruit of the Spirit" passage in Galatians 5. To be quite honest, I blogged about what I first discovered/was inspired by in each chapter. It's interesting to me that it's time for chapter 6 and we won't be blogging about that famous chapter. However, we will probably be looking at it over the holiday season as we have our Holiday Fruit of the Spirit email study available, too.