Friday: Further Thought – Living With Each Other
Daily Lesson for Friday 20th of March 2026
Further Thought
“Every member of the family should realize that a responsibility rests upon him individually to do his part in adding to the comfort, order, and regularity of the family.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
One should not work against another. All should unitedly engage in the good work of encouraging one another; they should exercise gentleness, forbearance, and patience; speak in low, calm tones, shunning confusion; and each doing his utmost to lighten the burdens of the mother. . . .
“Each member of the family should understand just the part he is expected to act in union with the others. All, from the child six years old and upward, should understand that it is required of them to bear their share of life’s burdens.”—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, Pages 179, 180.
“We must let Christ into our hearts and homes if we would walk in the light. Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be a little heaven upon earth, a place where the affections are cultivated instead of being studiously repressed. Our happiness depends upon this cultivation of love, sympathy, and true courtesy to one another. . . . We should be self-forgetful, ever looking out for opportunities, even in little things, to show gratitude for the favors we have received of others, and watching for opportunities to cheer others and lighten and relieve their sorrows and burdens by acts of tender kindness and little deeds of love. These thoughtful courtesies, that, commencing in our families, extend outside the family circle, help make up the sum of life’s happiness; and the neglect of these little things makes up the sum of life’s bitterness and sorrow.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, Pages 539, 540.
Discussion Questions
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Did you hear about the man who had the electricity put on in his house. The wires were connected the lights installed, but that night he lit the candle as he always did. His house was connected to the PowerStation, and the electricity was delivered through the wires, but he was satisfied to light his house the way he had always done it; set up the candle, strike the match and apply it to the wick. Then he would read his book about the mighty power of electricity
I hear a lot of talk about God as the source of wisdom and goodness, and the Holy Spirit is the delivery mechanism. But sometimes I think we are like the man in the house with the candle. The power is there ready to be used but we are so stuck in our old ways, and we continue to use our old spiritual candles.
There is something missing in our discussions about “Living with Each Other”. Christianity does not live in a vacuum talking holy talk and thinking spiritual niceties. We live in a real world with lots of “Each Others”.
Jesus did not say a lot about the theory of Christianity. Most of his life was spent helping others. And when he did talk “spiritual stuff” a fair bit of it was about relating to others. Give away one of your coats; sell all your goods, walk two miles instead of one; turn the other cheek when someone biffs you one!
Ellen White had an expression for religion that was all talk about doctrine and law. She said it was as dry as the Hills of Gilboa. I think I know what she means. The power is there but it is switched off!
Here is a challenge for you: Do something with others this Sabbath! Switch on the electricity and stop playing with candles! Our God is more powerful than we can possibly imagine. Share that power with someone.
I’m going birding with my friends early tomorrow morning! Have a happy shareable Sabbath!
Aptly stated, Maurice! I thought that you were going to say that the candle burned the house down that night. Electricity is amazing and powerful but it’s useless to us if we never turn on the switch.
The same goes for our Christianity. We can put on a good show for a while but we will eventually wear ourselves out trying to live the Christian life in our own strength. We need a power greater than ourselves, and outside of ourselves. We need the power of the Holy Spirit empowering our lives. Why do we keep pushing the car around when we can get in it, turn on the key 🔑, and let the engine do the work? Faith is the key in the hand that unlocks the storehouse of heaven’s blessings. EGW paraphrase
My brothers Tim and Maurice, thanks for your response. But the critical question, to my mind at this point Tim; is how do you “turn the key” ? As simplistic as this question may appear, one could be shocked at the variety of answers that may be given. Our Lord Himself gave the answer. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,except it abide in the vine;no more can ye,except ye abide in me.” John 15:5. We abide in Him by spending time with Him; primarily as we study and meditate on His Word. Here is the awesome challenge- the challenge to spend time with Jesus ; to grow to know Him, to love Him and trust Him. This is the point where miracles occur. My every act of obedience is a MIRACLE of GRACE that is acessed through Faith. Dear Reader are you ruthless,desperate,downright determined, come Hell or Highwater to spend quality time with Jesus today ? Are you willing to pay such a price in order to expereince the miracle of a transformed life?
God through Christianity elevated and dignified marriage and it is our duty keep it that way.
The followings are recommended in order to make marriage stand the test of time:
1, Prayer: It’s a way of always asking God to take pre-eminence in the union He established. He alone can protect the marriage from external evil forces, spiritually and physically and impart the needed wisdom and knowledge to carry through in any situation.
2, Tolerance: It’s a way of accommodating everyone irrespective of their weaknesses and through love find peace even when it seems impossible.
3, Evangelism: If we position our marriage as a channel to evangelize our community, then we will be more conscious and committed to retain the moral and God-fearing values that will make people emulate our marriage union and appreciate God for the opportunity to learn His will in their own marriage.
When children reject the faith they have grown up with, it can feel as though they have, knowingly or unknowingly, chosen the path of the prodigal son. In such moments, parents are often left with painful questions: How can a child raised in a strong, prayerful Christian home turn away from faith? What went wrong in my parenting? Self-blame can easily take root, as the enemy accuses and reminds us of perceived failures—missed family devotions, shortcomings, and sins of omission and commission. Yet one truth remains clear: parenting is a gift and a sacred stewardship from God, and it can only truly succeed through His sovereign help and strength. As Scripture reminds us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
We cannot parent successfully on our own; we need God’s strong hands to build our homes and His all-seeing eyes to watch over and guard our children. When we attempt to raise them apart from Him, we fall short. And when the weight of disappointment or perceived failure becomes overwhelming, our only refuge is to draw closer to God. Our Creator is ready to comfort us if we pour out our hearts to Him. In prayer, we are called to worry less and trust more, remembering His invitation: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). He meets us with compassion and grace, carrying our burdens when they feel too heavy. God loves our children even more than we do and desires that they return to Him. He hears every prayer and sees every tear. In His perfect timing, He will answer even when our children have wandered far because His love patiently waits for them to come home.
Motanya – your question: “How can a child raised in a strong, prayerful Christian home turn away from faith? What went wrong with my parenting?”
May I share a thought – we may teach all the right doctrine, live by adhering to all that supports our religion, but when we neglect to show them that we genuinely love our heavenly Father with the ‘love of a child’ – a heartfelt, emotional love -, letting them observe us as we deal with difficulties, or are His joyful, glad in heart, children, then our own children may form a ‘detached/law-based’ personal relationship with their heavenly Father which they rebel against when older.
Looking back on my own experience, the most neglected part in the line-up of things ‘to do right’ by them may have been to making sure that they recognize our motivation for wanting to do the ‘right’ thing. Do we let them observe our relationship with Him being based on loving our heavenly Father with all our heart, accepting Him as our heavenly ABBA, Father, humbly expressing our gratitude about being reunited with Him by faithful observance of His Way of Life demonstrated to us by His Son Jesus Christ, or do they see us ‘observing the law’? Luke 15:24; Luke 19:10; 1 Peter 2:25.
The husband and wife who become father and mother and their children are the foundation of society. Good homes produce good and safe neighborhoods which then build safer towns and ultimatel prosperous nations. We are surrounded by imperfections but we can do our part with the help of God through prayer. It is better than not doing nothing at all.
Harking back to Wednesday’s discussion of slavery, and some points already touched on, I believe God wants us to understand the relationship of freedom to slavery as it relates to the great controversy between Christ and Satan in which we find ourselves. Satan has accused those who follow Christ as slaves and characterized those who follow him as free.
“Rejecting with disdain the arguments and entreaties of the loyal angels, he denounced them as deluded slaves. The preference shown to Christ he declared an act of injustice both to himself and to all the heavenly host, and announced that he would no longer submit to this invasion of his rights and theirs. He would never again acknowledge the supremacy of Christ. He had determined to claim the honor which should have been given him, and take command of all who would become his followers; and he promised those who would enter his ranks a new and better government, under which all would enjoy freedom” PP 40.1
I believe God wants us to understand slavery not so much from the standpoint of position as by motivation. If you obey your master out of love for him you do not think of yourself as a slave. If you have to obey against your will you could consider yourself a slave.
Many of us, I believe, aspire to being slaves of Christ whereby we perfectly obey Him from a motive of unfeigned love. In our fallen condition it is not so easy to be a slave of Christ as we might wish. But Scripture teaches we will ultimately be a slave of one or the other, Christ or Satan.
Romans 6:16 NIV “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”
The condemnation the Scripture talks about is not our position as slaves of sin but our motivation for being slaves of sin. As long as we love sin we do not think of ourselves as slaves until we want to get out and are not able.
John 3:19 KJV
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
As we freely follow Satan we become slaves of sin and death.
As a slave of Christ we are free indeed leading to everlasting life.
‘Living with each other in ‘Christ’s Spirit of Unity’.’
An excerpt from today’s quote by Ellen G. White relates Truth in a nutshell: “We must let Christ into our hearts and homes if we would walk in the Light.” This is easily understood, easy to place in the context of living peacefully with each other. Having Christ live in our heart will make the difference in our thoughts, actions, and desires – wherever we are!
Toward the end of Jesus’ ministry, He often pointed to His unique relationship with His Father. He wanted us to know that the same Spirit which unites Him with the Father will also unite us with our heavenly Father as we abide in our Savior Christ Jesus.
1 John 5:20
”And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true – in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
We experience ‘Life’ only within and through Christ’s Spirit of Love and Righteousness. The believer abiding in Him – doing that which the Spirit reveals – is alive, receiving Wisdom to apply Love in all its various forms; enabling us to go through life with joy in the Spirit of Unity.
1 Cor.6:17; John 22-24; John 15:9-10; John 14:20-21; 1 John 4:16-17; Eph.4:3-6; Rom.8:10; 1 1 John 2:5;
I support the Adventist Home view of the family. I also empathize with the multitude of Adventist and Christ loving families who do not fit this mold. It’s understandable why so many turn to other sources for supported bible study than SDA sources in order to feel that their story is presented or even heard. We are all sinners, no sin is worse that another, and there is so much dysfunction out there in and out of the “church” which requires that I meet it with love. How is the single or unwed parent, the family with gender dysphoria, the troubled teen or adult, the unhoused greeted when they approach the brethren (includes us sisterhood). Truly, as our lesson author quotes: “We must let Christ into our hearts and homes if we would walk in the light.” Please, let’s not just always just put forward the ideal.
When a family member embraces God’s love, it can inspire the whole family. If I truly want to make a difference, I can be the catalyst for change.
We do our best, Obeng-Akrofi Priscilla, and never, “Nothing at all,” when we take God at His word.
My prayer is that as my husband and I, “Heirs together in the grace of life,” (1 Peter 3:7) continue to represent Christ before our young adult children; that our lives will be exemplary, to the glory of God.
Bless and strengthen my husband’s resolve to represent You. May I, in turn, be willing to submit; and may our future generations witness Your multiplied blessings, Lord.