… love one another …
Summary: Peter tells us to love one another using a rare word that means ‘brotherly love.’ This kind of love is not caught up in arguments but is the oil on the water that calms arguments. It allows brothers and sisters in the same family to get along.
Love is a many splendored thing, or so the songwriter says. The word “love” is also a word of many definitions as we have discussed before. The kind of love that Peter is thinking of when he wrote today’s passage is “philadelphos.” This particular Greek word appears only once in the Bible, and Peter chose to use it here.
Philadelphos is typically translated as meaning brotherly love. It can also mean friendship or shared goodwill. As I understand it, it means to care about someone as if they were a family member.
So what characterizes the love of a family member? Sometimes family members don’t get along, but they still care. It is an interesting conundrum. It can lead to a situation where a person finds themselves trying to help someone that they don’t like.
What Peter is saying here is that we are to care about our brothers and sisters in Christ, even if we don’t like them. Why? Because they are brothers and sisters in Christ. Literally, your brothers and sisters.
As you probably know from your own experience with families, brothers and sisters are not always inclined to listen to each other or accept advice. We all like to go our own way until there is a problem. Then, for the most part, brothers and sisters come together to get through whatever the problem is.
This particular type of love is important if churches are to survive. There will always be differences in viewpoints. We are made that way. For every person God made, he also made a unique viewpoint. What is important is not that one viewpoint is more right than the other. What is important is that we learn to respect each other’s viewpoints. In fact, that is a great definition for philadelphos; respect for another believer’s viewpoint.
WAIT A MINUTE!
As I write this I can hear voices in my head saying, “Jeff, what are you talking about? Do you mean that people should be allowed to believe whatever they want?”
The answer to this is somewhat involved. First of all, it is not up to me to decide what people can believe. Regardless of what they say, people will believe what they believe.
Second, I don’t believe that we are “saved” by our beliefs. That may sound like heresy to some, but let me explain. No… let me ask a question instead. Have your beliefs changed? Have your beliefs about God grown as you learn more about the Bible? Does new information cause you to rethink your beliefs? If the answer is, “Yes,” and it is hard to imagine beliefs not changing at some point in one’s life, then how do you know that the belief you hold now is the correct one?
The answer is, you can’t know. Pastor Rich said something very profound last Sunday in his sermon. He said, “The Gospel is not a ‘what,’ it is a ‘who.’” The “who” of the Gospel is Jesus Christ. It is not our own formulation about what Jesus is or what he wants us to do that saves us. It is Jesus Christ himself that does that.
Third, the human mind has an almost infinite capacity for confusion. The mind is an incredible thinking machine, but like a computer, if you program it with garbage data, you are going to get garbage results. We live in a world full of garbage thinking. It is hard to avoid. Which brings me to the fourth point:
Fourth, the one thing we have that is unchanging and unyielding is the Bible. Oh I know, there are many translations and lots of discussions about source material and such. But for all of that, the message in the Bible is extremely consistent and clear. If we read the Bible with the eyes of our heart we find that there is a single voice behind every passage. The voice of God.
Finally, I say this: I believe in God, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. I also believe that the Bible was written exactly the way that God wanted it to be written. If we can agree on these four things, I am happy. If you know the Bible and choose to go a different way, that is up to you. If you know the Bible and choose to believe what it says, then I am your brother in Christ.
Application: Practice listening to be more sympathetic and practice allowing other believers to have their own viewpoint.
Food for Thought: If believers agree that loving each other as Peter uses the word, love, is the number one priority, what is left that could come between one Christian and another? (I’m assuming here that a ”believer” actually believes in God and the Bible.)
Sin
Tim,
Well said! That one gets us every time!
Oh my gosh! I absolutely love this! Such a great topic, loving others even if they have an opinion that differs from you. Love others as He loves us. It’s so needed in this world. I can’t stand to even look at the news. Everytime I see a headline, my first thought is, “Y’all need Jesus.”
One part that struck my heart rather hard was the discussion we are the care for others, even if we don’t particularly like them. I realized I have found this easier to do at times, care for people I don’t particular care for, who are OUTSIDE of my family. Does that make me a bad person? Does that mean I don’t love a family member? Initially, I thought it did. However, I believe possibly we stay the angriest at those we feel the safest with to be angry at. (I hope that makes sense.) I had the proverbial thump on the head not too long ago that if I am sending prayers to my friends by text as God lays them on my heart, I should be doing the same for my family. It is a much more difficult task for me though, being the only believer in the family besides my kids. It is also difficult as there are some rifts in my family that have torn the family apart and even within the family, sides are to be chosen because opinions differ. (My family has been this way even before the world became this way.)
In hindsight, it would make my life a whole lot easier to not choose sides, but continue establishing my boundaries, and love and treat everyone the same – as Jesus would. Our world is crazy enough right now and there is way too much garbage. I don’t want to be a contributor to the craziness, dislike and garbage even if its only within my own family.
I appreciate how thought provoking this post was.
Finally, when I read “Read the bible with the eyes of your heart!,” just one word… **goosebumps** =o)
Darla,
Thank you for your comment this morning. Your enthusiasm is contagious and I am encouraged by your response. This is a hard one for many people. When we make religion about our ideas about Jesus instead of Jesus himself, we are bound to take sides on the arguments. The fact that there are “denominations” of Christian churches testifies to this fact. When we make it about Jesus, the only “sides” that matter are whether we are with Jesus or not.
Darla I think you’ve got the next great bumper sticker/shirt “Y’all need Jesus.”
Great idea, Tim!! 🙂
Thank you brother. The comments here, like the devotion, are excellent and thought provoking.
I actually do not have much to add. I like Tim’s one word response of sin. That pretty much sums up our problem in the family. The good news is that love covers over a multitude of sin (1 Peter 4: 8).
Rich,
You make a great point about the power of love. It is another incentive to drink deeply from the love that Jesus offers us.
“The human mind has an almost infinite capacity for confusion.” Great Jeff!!!
A Brother once told me, “Walking with God is like walking backwards. Let God lead us, being always mindful of His power in our lives.”
In OUR flesh we see with OUR eyes, hear with OUR ears, process through OUR imperfect minds and selectively dispense OUR love based on OUR emotions. Human love is often based on feelings and perceived merit. What something or someone does that makes us have positive feelings toward it. I have spent a ton of money on beautiful, New Fast cars because they made me feel good for a year.
OUR conditional love is in conflict with Gods Unconditional love for all mankind.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 10:13, For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20, Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Believers are imperfect beings serving our perfect God. He will not force Himself on anyone. We can only follow His will by living in humble obedience to His Word. We have Christ in our hearts and the Holy Spirit as our Teacher. Listen to God, grow in Christ, follow His guidance in our lives and we begin serving others in ways, with people we had never imagined.
Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Ephesians 3:17-19, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Thank you Ron. Those verse are beautiful.
Ron,
Thanks for sharing the concept of walking backwards with God and letting Him lead. That is a powerful visual!
With all these great comments it tells me that LOVE is more than just a four letter word,..
It wasn’t until I read what Jesus did for me at the cross that I found out what love really is,..He died to take away my sin and He rose to grant me eternal life with Him in heaven,..I love my parents and family but I really don’t think they would go to the extreme that Jesus did for me,..then again,..I probably wouldn’t die on a cross for them either,..there are things I would do but that is something I am soo very thankful Christ did for us all,..
One huge reason why I love to share the gospel with others while on the fence line and I believe God has given me a special ministry by placing New Testament’s in those little libraries all over Portland,..have already placed over 50 so far while out driving around from estimate to estimate,..that has led to Jesus being glorified many times,..
I love talking about Jesus,..
Hi John,
I love talking about Jesus, too. And I love hearing your stories about your experiences sharing Jesus in the world. Thank you!
👍🏻