Prayer is the way we communicate to God, and how we express ourselves in prayer is personal and individual. But the content Jesus included when He instructed His disciples, “this is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:9-13), provides a model which may be helpful to you as a family.

As the days progress toward the season in which we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus, I have found myself reflecting on the central, amazing truth that God became a man. I recognize that the Incarnation is beyond my comprehension, yet I have also experienced marvelous encouragement through meditating on it. Perhaps what has encouraged me most is a truth given to us in Hebrews 4: in Jesus, we have a high priest who can sympathize with us in our weaknesses, because He was tempted in every way that we are – “yet was without sin.”

There is an old German proverb that says, “The main thing is that the main thing is always the main thing.” Let me suggest that this bit of sage advice reflects a spiritual truth. No matter what circumstances change; no matter what we feel or think; no matter what corrupt values pervade our culture; no matter what temptations attack us; God is Sovereign, and we exist for His glory, and He is at work in all things for the good of those who love Him to conform us to the likeness of His Son. The proverb expresses a spiritual reality in mundane language. Over my years as a Bible teacher, I have found it to be of some value to rephrase this old proverb to suggest a spiritual strategy: The main thing is to let the main thing be the main thing.

Marriage as a picture of Christ and the Church has been symbolized in the Christian wedding ceremony for generations. But, through the years, the emphasis in the ceremony has shifted to a greater and nearly exclusive focus upon the bride and her arrival. The entrance and activities of the groom, who should draw our attention to Christ, are seen as almost insignificant. But they are not.

In a fallen creation in which all are subject to the law of sin and death, we sometimes experience anger. Occasionally, it may be a righteous anger as a response to sin. But more often than not, our anger is a reaction of our own sinful nature, and this anger and its expression are unrighteous.

At the end of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, one of the instructions with which Paul closes his letter is “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) The exhortation is embedded in Paul’s teaching about gently restoring a brother who is entangled in some sin or unintentional error. While the concept of bearing others’ burdens may apply to things like sorrows and difficulties in general, the context reveals that Paul is speaking of bearing the burden of others’ sin. This is reinforced by the explanation, “and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Christ bore the burden of our sin for the purpose of propitiation and commanded His disciples to “love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) It seems clear that Paul is instructing believers that, by bearing the burden of one another’s sin for the purposes of restoration, we are loving one another as Christ has loved us. This Christ-like love’s standard of measurement is not self-love, as in “love your neighbor as yourself,” but self-sacrifice, as in “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us in this way, we ought also to love one another.” (1 John 4:10)

How do we “bear one another’s burden” of sin?

A bit of mystery surrounds the marvelous old hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.” There is no certainty about the authorship of either the tune or the text. There is, however, no mystery about the inspiration for this great hymn of faith. The message is firmly rooted in the clear teaching of God’s Word. The middle verse communicates a pivotal Biblical teaching – a teaching that is the key that opens the door from simple endurance of suffering to authentic perseverance that leads to greater spiritual maturity.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is not enough for relationships between believers. We are commanded to love one another as Christ has loved us. This love is illustrated in Christ’s sacrifice for us and clearly instructed in passages like Ephesians 5:1, 2; 1 Peter 1:22 & 4:8-10; and 1 John 4:7-11. The standard of measurement for this love is not self-love, but self-sacrifice.

In order to turn to Christ, it is necessary that we become aware of our sinfulness. But, even as we acknowledge our sinful depravity, the enemy would have us remain focused on ourselves rather than truly relying upon the Savior. What we call repentance may be only so much wallowing in self-pity, and we almost enjoy the state of our wretchedness rather than being repulsed by it… We must understand and acknowledge the dreadful sinfulness of sin if we are ever to comprehend the amazing graciousness of grace.