The most important thing to the Lord outside of believing the gospel for salvation is walking in love towards all your other brothers and sisters in Christ. In pretty much every epistle written by the apostles, when they thank God for your faith, they also thank God for your love towards all the brethren, and always pray that that love towards each other abounds more and more. Why is this so? Why does our Father desire that His children walk in fervent love towards each other? Because our good relationships with our family are everything: that’s what brings true, lasting peace and joy into someone’s life – a strong, good relationship – not fame, wealth, power or beauty. And a lonely life without joy and peace is a life not worth living. Meditate deeply on these things.
Other believers in Christ are your true family (not just in name only). They are your true brothers and sisters, who you will spend eternity with.
Our flesh and blood earthly family is temporal. Our heavenly family is eternal. These are our spiritual “blood” brothers and sisters – our true eternal family where we are joined together by the same Spirit of God that lives within all of us, where we are all born into the same family and all share the same Heavenly Father. Our familial bond of the same Spirit that lives inside each of us is more real and stronger than blood. We’ve all been reborn into the same family of God as brothers and sisters. You know what they say when it comes to family vs friends: “Blood is thicker than water.” However, Spirit is thicker than blood.
As brothers and sisters and children of our Heavenly Father, we are all extremely and equally special to Him – He does not show favoritism among His children (Galatians 2:6), but loves us all equally.
As the family of our Heavenly Father, as His children, just like any earthly father, He desires that His children get along and help each other. These are some of the qualities of our heavenly sibling relationships that our Father desires for His children:
- Be kind to each other – walk in love toward them unconditionally, selflessly.
- Help and serve each other.
- Physically
- Emotionally
- Financially
- Sacrifice for each other.
- Pray for each other.
- Don’t judge each other. Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
- Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe (Romans 10:4), meaning, righteousness doesn’t come by adherence to the law, but rather through faith in Christ. Therefore, do not judge your brethren in regard to eating certain food or drink, or regarding not observing a festival or a new moon or sabbaths (Colossians 2:16). Also see Romans 14.
- Encourage each other.
- Lift each other up and esteem each other better than yourself.
- Submit to each other.
- Gently correct and teach each other with all humility and kindness. Whether it be:
- Christian teachings.
- A sibling stuck in sin.
- Have empathy for each other:
- Rejoice with one another in what’s good.
- Have compassion on those who are suffering.
- Read the Bible together, and learn and grow with one another.
- Be unified in the Spirit, walking in perfect love towards each other. This means that all brothers and sisters in Christ should be of the same mind and attitude towards each other:
- Rejoicing with each other.
- Feeling godly sorrow for each other’s misfortunes.
- Being peaceful amongst each other.
- Being gentle with each other.
- Being kind to each other.
- Being patient and long suffering with each other.
- Being self-controlled around each other.
- Bearing with each other’s shortcomings and burdens.
- Not getting angry with each other.
- Thinking no evil towards each other.
- Not being rude to each other.
- Forgiving each other.
- Being good and doing good to each other.
- Being faithful to each other.
- Being humble around each other, not boasting or bragging.
- Not becoming envious of each other, but rather rejoicing with each other.
- Not coveting each other’s possessions.
- Being selfless towards each other, putting your brothers’ and sisters’ needs before your own.
- Believing each other without cynicism.
- Being truthful with each other.
Memorize these things and live by these things amongst your brothers and sisters in Christ and you will do well. (These things are the fruit of the Spirit and the definition of love found in Galatians 5:22-23 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
The beginning of Acts (especially chapters 1-4) document the original church that the Jewish apostle Peter founded in Jerusalem, where the first believers came together as brothers and sisters unlike any other time, where they gave up everything to be with each other and to help each other and to live as one with each other:
Acts 2:44-47 — Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Acts 4:32-37 — Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Now is your time to get back to that. The church started this way with the Jews in Israel, and will end this way with the Jews in Israel.
And this I pray, that you may abound more and more in the knowledge of what love is and in discernment of what’s right and wrong morally, being able to test and approve of what’s morally correct, and that you may live by what’s morally good, being pure and blameless in your practical sanctification (your daily walk and growth of holiness) here on earth till the day of Christ’s return, being filled with the fruit of the Spirit that comes by the power of the Holy Spirit while exercising yourself in godliness (moral character and conduct) — Philippians 1:9-11.
The Lord wants you to take action and be a doer of all these things, and not just a hearer of them — James 1:22-25.
And remember: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” — 1 Peter 1:3-5