Family Business

Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. [Hebrews 13.1]

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. [1 Peter 1.22]

Both Peter and the author of Hebrews instructed believers to love one another like brothers and sisters. Of course we are to love everyone, but we are to recognize that "family" has deeper ties!

How are believers all made family? By the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ and the faith exercised to believe His blood was shed on our behalf. The "family" part comes in when we recognize that Jesus made us "heirs" together with Himself (Romans 8.15-17: So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.)

So, I've said it before and I say it again - the Kingdom is family business.

When considering "family" it is important that we we understand that we are part of something that requires us to work together. Although there may indeed be different roles in any family business filled by various family members, all must work together in order for the business to be effective and successful. The Kingdom of God has many many roles and it is ever so important that the family of God works together with as much unity and harmony as possible to be effective in the earth today.

In considering the instruction to love one another as brothers and sisters, it occurred to me that it is at that family level where we actually learn to love (at least it should be). If we learn to genuinely love at the family level, we will be far better equipped to love those outside the family.

I can see how the Church has been largely rendered useless in the world today because we are so divided and broken in our love and fellowship with one another as brothers and sisters in the LORD! Our only testimony to the world is the love of God found in Jesus (John 3.16) and if we do not demonstrate that love within the body, how will the world ever take the 'Good News' seriously? Who wants to be part of something full of arguing, backbiting, competition, and just plain old meanness?

There are truths that very much unite the Church and we should focus on those truths. Those truths include the basic Gospel message of the Bible regarding faith in Christ alone for salvation. Everything else is important but not so much to keep us from loving and supporting one another in our pursuit of deeper relationship with God (as long as that pursuit of God is actually pursuit of God as He has revealed in the Bible and by His Spirit)! We actually need disagreements in order to challenge ourselves to dig deeper - but we don't need to break off fellowship over our disagreements! There are clear Bible truths and then there are other areas that need discussion! Again, this 'discussion' should not divide us, but make us think - we should approach it with every intention of growing! However, we must not lose sight of the fact that Truth, the Truth of God found in the story of the Bible does, in fact, 'draw lines' - in other words, there are absolutes. Truth is not subject to interpretation or relevancy.

When I consider all the implications of what I have written here above, I think it would be easier to simply ignore the fact that I am to love other believers like family! But, I am not so lucky that I could get by with that! None of us are! The burden of loving one another in the Body of Christ rests upon us. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it. We have a Kingdom to run after all - we, as family members with Christ and God, are stewards of this Kingdom and have every responsibility for the day-to-day functions of it!

Father, help Your family to do what is necessary to operate in Your Kingdom effectively!