Everyday Christianity: Spiritual Life (6)
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6.2
One-anothering
God has established the spiritual life so that one way we depend on Him and demonstrate His love to the world is by depending on one another in the Body of Christ.
We are not alone in the spiritual life. We are saints together in the Body of Christ and share with one another in the fellowship of His suffering and resurrection glory. We need one another. We are instructed to teach one another, love one another, admonish one another, correct one another, care for one another, bear one another’s burdens, and stimulate one another to love and good works. “One-anothering” is thus an important component of the spiritual life.
And as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, caring for one another’s soul—encouraging spiritual growth and consistency in heart, mind, conscience, and life—is likewise an important part of spiritual life (2 Cor. 12.15).
If we try to live the spiritual life without depending on other believers to teach, support, direct, correct, assist, and guide us, we are certain to be in the doldrums more than is necessary.
Paul says believers are to bear one another’s burdens. Solomon taught that, like iron sharpening iron, believers need one another if they are to continue to make progress in the spiritual life. Jesus said we must love and serve one another if we would fulfill our callings in His Kingdom (Jn. 13.13-17).
Learning to depend on other believers is both a way of depending on the Lord and of demonstrating the love we share together in the Body of Christ.
Soul friends
The ancient Celtic Christians emphasized the importance of having what they called a soul friend. Saint Brigid is reported to have said that “A man without a soul friend is like a body without a head.”
What is a soul friend, and how can having one help us benefit by depending on other believers?
A soul friend is someone who cares about your soul as much as you do, and for whose soul you are just as concerned. Soul friends agree to journey together in the spiritual life, sharing what we are learning or what concerns us, encouraging one another in desiringthe life of faith, helping each other deny those things that get in the way of following Christ, holding one another accountable for the things we have determined to pursue, and working together to expand and extend our definition of the spiritual life.
Soul friends may be helpful in each other’s life by calling attention to areas of sin or neglect of the spiritual life. Thus they can prove to be a valuable agent of ongoing spiritual detoxification.
A soul friend, in other words, can be an extremely valuable companion on your journey in the spiritual life.
Finding a soul friend
But where do we look to find a soul friend?
Husbands and wives should be soul friends, of course, daily encouraging and helping one another in their callings from the Lord. We can learn soul friendship by practicing it faithfully with one another, growing together in love for the Lord and each other. But each may also wish to acquire a soul friend of the same sex to complement that which they enjoy with their spouse. In seeking a soul friend look for someone you trust, respect, and will enjoy spending time with in conversation and prayer. Seek out one who is eager to grow in the Lord and with whom you could pray, study, and share for mutual edification.
Soul friends will get together regularly and talk freely about their struggles and victories. They will share their studies in the Scriptures as well as their challenges, concerns, and questions about how to keep growing in the life of faith. Soul friends pray together, and they’ll pray for one another when they are apart. They help one another set goals in the life of faith, and they hold one another accountable for their time and activities.
It can be a challenge learning to depend on other believers in this way, and everyone should be careful and prayerful about entering a soul friend relationship. However, both the Old and New Testaments provide teaching and examples of the importance of this dynamic of spiritual life. David and Jonathan, Daniel and his friends, Jesus and the disciples, Paul and Silas, Timothy, Titus, Clement, and the others—these show us the value soul friendships can provide for helping us get the most out of the spiritual life.
The great burden every Christian bears is laying aside the old self and being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Find a soul friend to bear that burden with you, and whose same burden you can bear, and your walk with and work for the Lord will take on new spiritual energy. So let us take up this challenge of learning to depend on those who love us, and who depend on us to love them as well.
For reflection or discussion
1. Do you have a soul friend? What does soul friendship look like to you?
2. Why is it important that we be ready to bear one another’s burdens?
3. What would you expect to gain by having a soul friend?
Next steps—Preparation: Are you ready to become a soul friend? To spend and be spent for the souls of others? Where do you need to improve your spiritual life so that you can be a valued soul friend to others?
T. M. Moore
Men, check out the fall schedule of reading and study groups. You can register now by going here. Take a look at the clearance sale in our bookstore. All the books in our inventory are free. Order several for yourself and some friends.
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A spiritual life is a disciplined life in every facet. How does this work out? Our book, A Disciplined Life, can help you review and improve your own disciplines toward a more robust walk with and work for the Lord. For a free PDF of The Disciplined Life, click here.
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast wraps up excerpts from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
