All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

Most of what I’ve previously written about true Christian unity and love isn’t new to many believers. But how often, and how embarrassingly, do we fall short of the love demanded of us! Given our natural ignorance and aversion to treating people who would otherwise be strangers as our brothers and sisters, what are the practical ways that we need to demonstrate our brotherly love toward one another?

First of all, such love will require us to not merely meet with one another on Sundays to listen, sing, and engage in casual conversation with each other. Such love demands that we know each other, and take an intense interest in our lives. Remember, Christians aren’t merely friends, but family. So, as you would treat your own dear natural relations, so also should you treat your spiritual brothers and sisters in Jesus.

This is exactly what Paul means when he instructs the Romans to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love . . .” (Ro. 12:10). The Greek phrase that he uses here could be literally translated, “have brotherly affection for one another,” or “treat one another like family.” So, just as now, so then, believers had to be told to recognize their spiritual relation to each other.

Now, based on this one command to treat one another like brothers and sisters, what are the implications? Let’s think about how natural siblings would treat each other in a normal situation with responsible parents maintaining their unity. First, natural siblings view each other as having a common origin and purpose. Because they come from the same parents, they usually recognize that the mission given to them by their parents is the mission that each of them is responsible to fulfill. Likewise, believers ought to remember that as children of the same Father, we all have the same main purpose, which is to please our Father by obeying Him like Jesus.

Second, because siblings view each other as in some sense united in their identity as members of their household, they often empathize and sympathize more intensely with each other than with any person outside the household. That is, any good that is experienced by your sibling is good for you, and any harm suffered by them hurts you. This is the natural outworking of Paul’s charge to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15). This sharing of well-being and emotions is also a part of the group-mindset of siblings with the same father. If believers, as brothers and sisters, are striving to reach the same general goals, then any hindrances or setbacks to those goals in our sibling’s life will be viewed as a setback to the reaching of our goal. This mindset is what Paul illustrates in his metaphor of believers on earth as a human body. Because the proper functioning of each part of it is necessary for the health and productivity of the whole, then each part is furiously devoted to the well-being of every other part. Worked out in practical terms, this means that we as brethren must “look out . . . for the interests of others” by treating “one another as more important than yourselves” (Php. 2:3, 4). When we learn that our sibling is doing well in his godliness, then we must encourage him. On the flip side, if we find that our brother is committing a sin, or on the verge of committing a sin, then we must warn him of the danger he’s in.

A third behavior that natural siblings exercise toward each other is to spend time together, especially at meal times. For siblings who have healthy attitudes toward each other, they usually enjoy sharing in the common activities and experiences that are promoted to them by their parents. This is especially true of sharing a family meal. In a normally functioning family, the whole family usually eats together on a regular basis. It’s been a common practice in nearly all societies, from the beginning of human life, for those who share common purposes, goals, and interests to eat together. And this is a largely ignored, but hugely emphasized aspect of Christian community in the New Testament. The two chief examples of this are Paul describing the Corinthians as gathering on a weekly basis to eat the Lord’s Supper, and the Acts of the Apostles speaking of a Christian assembly as gathering “to break bread,” which is clearly part of the Lord’s Supper in Luke’s writings (1 Cor. 11:20; Acts 21:7). And in the Corinthian description, the Lord’s Supper is described as a meal, which the Scriptural evidence, and church tradition, clearly confirm as being the first Christians’ practice. Hence, it should be normal and routine for believers to eat together.

Having looked at these aspects of sibling interactions, can you see how far short we are of fulfilling our calling of treating each other the way the Lord has instructed us to? Yet, if we are to truly “love one another” as the Lord loved His disciples, these things must be integral parts of our relationships. Yet, there are at least a few hindrances and besetting sins that must be removed from our lives if we’re going to have the freedom to love and serve each other rightly.

Application Question:

How can you do a better job at treating your closest brethren like family today?