Elevated Friday, May 8th, 2020

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of one landlord who is helping his tenants in a powerful way. A California landlord, who chose to remain anonymous, recently received $3,400 in stimulus money for he and his wife from the federal government. Upon receiving it, he felt compelled to use it to benefit what he calls his “second family,” or tenants. He matched the $3,400 from the government with his own money to disperse $7,000 evenly amongst his tenants as rent forgiveness, bringing each tenant’s rent down $500 for the month. One tenant, who has been renting there for 10 years, said that this sort of compassionate gesture is not unusual for this landlord. That donation allowed her to finally afford to fix her car. While this landlord could not afford to cancel rent for his tenants, he did what he could to share the burden and thereby exhibited an act of Christ-like love.

Burdens weigh on all of us, especially during these uncertain times. Whether they be financial, emotional, physical, or spiritual, for some reason, most of us are hesitant to ask for help even we are feeling crushed under their weight. Reading the Gospels, it is obvious that those who needed help from Jesus called out to him and asked directly for his help. While we do that to Jesus in prayer, would any of us be that bold to directly ask another person for help? The answer for most of us is no. That is why we all must do better at asking others around us how they are really doing, what specifically they are struggling with, and how specifically we can help. Galatians says, “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” The sharing of a burden is a form of giving and an act of Christ-like love. Today, check in with your circle, ask how they are doing, and be prepared to share their burdens.

“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2 ESV

Original Article:

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