The Weight He Couldn't Carry Alone

Near the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Frodo Baggins collapses on the ashen slopes of Mount Doom. The Ring has drained every last ounce of strength from his body. He cannot take another step. He is finished.

And then Samwise Gamgee kneels beside him. Sam looks at his friend — gaunt, broken, barely conscious — and says words that have echoed in the hearts of moviegoers since 2003: "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you." With that, Sam lifts Frodo onto his back and begins to climb.

Sam couldn't remove the burden. He couldn't take away the weight of the Ring or the darkness it brought. But he could put his own body underneath his friend and walk.

That is what love does. It doesn't always fix the problem. It doesn't always make the pain disappear. But it shows up. It kneels down. It lifts.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). The law of Christ is love — and love is not a feeling that watches from a safe distance. Love is the friend who climbs the mountain with you when you have nothing left.

Who in your life needs someone to kneel beside them today?