“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.” ~ Emily Kimbrough ~

Yes, we do stumble, quite a bit and it is a comfort to have others around us in our time of need. People we can tell our troubles to and know that they will understand because they have been through it as well. And as Christians this is something that we are called to do:

Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

We don’t always do that do we? Maybe we’re too busy or maybe instead of bearing burdens we are burdening others with criticism. Maybe we stand in judgment instead of offering love. More than likely we don’t even think to do so. We have are on burdens occupying our thoughts, so much so, we can’t even look outside our afflictions to see that others are struggling.
But when we do bear one another’s burdens, it can be a tremendous blessing. We are reminded that we are not alone, that God has sent us brothers and sisters to share in our struggle. God sends us help and makes us realize that this is a communal effort, we don’t have to do it alone. We can share our struggles with each other.
And when we are afflicted and God comforts us, we share that comfort with each other:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Isn’t it comforting to know that our afflictions aren’t in vain, that God has a purpose for them, not only for us but for others as well. Our afflictions bring us closer to God and to each other as we look for comfort and seek to give it as well.
Not only should we bear each others burdens and comfort each other with the comfort that God has given us but we should love each other with the love of Christ, it is a commandment and it is a statement of who we are:

1 John 4:7-21 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

This love is a witness to others of who we are:

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love is the mark of a Christian disciple. In a world where it’s dog eat dog and where everyone is looking out for themselves and it’s all about me, it would be an amazing sight to see people who really love each other and who only want to serve each other. People who are ready to aid in the struggle of their brothers and sisters, ready with words of comfort, not condemnation. What a witness to the love of Christ that would be.