We need one another.

As a Pastor’s wife, Wendy has been a consistent support to me in both good times and bad over the years. Just last Sunday, I was feeling a bit discouraged between preaching multiple services, and she kept me going. Nothing specific was wrong; I was just feeling the usual drain of energy from preaching. I’ve been told that preaching 30 minutes to an hour is equivalent to 8 hours of work. I’m not sure that’s true, but I was struggling to recover and get ready for the next service. I sent Wendy a text and asked her to come backstage with me. She was there for me when I needed her. She gave me some words of encouragement and offered to pray for me. I actually went out and preached the sermon better than I had in the previous service. Wendy even sent me a text just afterward and reminded me of one of the quotes I used in the sermon. “Sometimes we like to throw in the towel on things, but God throws it back and says, ‘Don’t give up!'” It was really encouraging to me.

We need one another.

I believe the church should operate like a hospital. A hospital without doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals wouldn’t be much of a hospital. But, a hospital without sick people wouldn’t be much of a hospital either.

Churches should be full of spiritually sick and hurting people who are getting help. The church is the perfect place for imperfect people. Have you ever sat in church, wondering if you’re not good enough to be there? I know I have. But that is precisely why we should be there. Jesus himself said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). 

There are lots of “one another” statements in the Bible. I want to focus our attention on an important one for this time of year. Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” We need one another when we learn, and we need one another even more as Christians. We need one another when we are just doing life. But we especially need one another when we mess up and find ourselves in tough times. Let me show you an important distinction between the word “burden” and the word “load” in what Paul is saying here in Galatians 6.

Galatians 6:5 – “Each one will have to bear his own load.”

Every Christian is responsible for carrying their own load. We all have a load to bear, but it’s comparatively light. The word “load” is different from a “burden.” Paul used two different Greek words to describe these two types of weight. The “load” in verse 5 is our normal weight of responsibility, but the “burden” in verse 2 is excessive.

Galatians 6:2 – “Bear one another’s burdens.”

Christians are to bear one another’s burdens continually. The word “burdens” comes from a Greek word that refers to heavy loads that are difficult to lift and carry. It represents any difficulty or problem a person has trouble coping with in life. This is exactly what Wendy helped me with last weekend.

We need one another.

Who do you know that has a burden this Christmas?