Caring for our Spiritual Siblings

This verse reminds me of parents who are constantly challenging older siblings to treat their younger siblings with kindness and care. They say things like “Be nice to your sister and watch out for her on the walk to school,” or “Don’t tease or ignore your brother, and don’t let him get bullied on the playground.” I am so thankful that after God saved me as a young person, He graciously placed me in a church where our pastor capably taught the word and challenged us to faithfully study it for ourselves. Remind yourself often of the truth that any person whom God calls His child is your brother or sister in Christ. There was a high value placed on biblical knowledge and theological precision. Unfortunately, for me this had the unintended consequence of thinking of people as a) those who are lost, b) those who are saved but don’t correctly understand spiritual truth or c) those who are like me and have a clear understanding of God’s word. In short, I ignored the principle in this verse and viewed my brothers and sisters in Christ as either first-class or second-class Christians. I would do my best to distance myself from those second-class believers. When I had spiritual conversations with them, my words and attitudes would let them know that they had significant deficits in their understanding of God’s word and His will. In pursuing a strong understanding of biblical content and correct theology, I disregarded the truth of 1 Corinthians 8:1 that “knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.” Remind yourself often of the truth that any person whom God calls His child is your brother or sister in Christ. Our heavenly Father expects us to love and care for them as a good sibling should.

Connect with TMAI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and increase our schools’ reach by sharing our content with your family and friends.