Keep on loving each other as brothers.

Hebrews 13:1

As we go through this lesson, I want you to think about the sister in your life who needs help.

 

My family of three brothers–well, we are a mixed, dysfunctional, disagreeable group. But joined at the hip. And I’ve always, always loved them.

 

The idea of not considering myself as my brothers’ keeper is unthinkable.

 

Why?

 

Because we share the same mother, were bound by the same rules, eaten and kicked each other at the same table, bargained with one another to get what we wanted, cried for each other when we were hurt, shared in death and in new life, prayed for each other when hard times or sickness or sin beat us down.

 

That’s what families do.

 

Just like it’s a foreign idea for me not to be considered as my brothers’ keeper, it is likewise inconceivable to think of you, my dear sisters, as a stranger or alien. Like our earthly families, you and I share the same blood — the blood of Christ. His heart beats through our spiritual veins. He’s our life source; our foundation; our rock; and we are the apple of his eyes.

 

The love we receive from him should be passed on to one another, and this love should be driven and drenched and enamored by the Holy Scriptures.

 

But too often we fill God’s perfect love with debris.

 

Imagine holding a bottle of distilled water. Pure. Crystal clear. No matter where you position it you can see everything through it. Place a speck of dirt, sprinkle in a dash of pepper, add a pinch of breadcrumbs, throw in a couple of rock pebbles, weigh it down with a precious stone, stuff in pieces of string … then shake it up … and what you have is a noisy bottle of murky liquid.

 

The same happens when we substitute worldly love for the love God defines in the scriptures.

What’s surprising about this new substitute for love is we try to offer it to one another, disguising the added ingredients as something new and profound.

The end result.

 

Beautiful distractions of Deceit covering God’s love like spider webs. Confusion. Twisted Jealousy. Strife trailing behind us like littered breadcrumbs. Quarrels. Failure. Heavy loads of Guilt wrapping around our hearts and dragging us deeper and deeper into depression. Emptiness. Promiscuity.

 

God never intended for us to redefine his perfection. He showed us exactly what love means. He defines it this way –

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

 

There are all kinds of worldly love. The one in name only is something you say; something guided by emotions; it’s a love without action; shallow and hallow; a detached love that makes it easy to walk away from others in times of trouble; an affection driven by selfish desires (you give to me, I give to you; you stroke my back, I’ll stroke yours).

 

In Luke 16:19-31, the story of the rich man and Lazarus — the rich man is self-centered and pivots his attention from Lazarus to the elite at his table, thinking lowly of Lazarus, treating him like chaff, offering him crumbs instead of a full meal, refusing to give Lazarus a drink to quench his thirst.

 

The scriptures, however, speak of another kind of love. A knowledgeable love – one taking root in the reading of God’s word, one which struggles through life’s hard clumps of dirt to spring forth new life, and when it is full-grown, scatters its seed to replicate itself. If this love is growing inside us, it is manifested through God’s goodness and kindness toward us. This love knows scripture and is obedient and lives by it.

 

Luke 10:25-37 is a biblical account of two travelers who find a hurt man on the road. One traveler looks down at him, leaves him, and goes about his business.

 

The Good Samaritan later comes along and sees the same hurt man, stops, and takes pity upon him; bandaging and pouring oil and wine upon his wounds; places the hurt man on his donkey; takes him to an inn and cares for him; leaves him in the care of the innkeeper with a promise to compensate the innkeeper upon his return.

 

There’s something very striking about these two stories:  Both travelers see the need. One chooses to ignore it and go about his business. The other chooses to seize the opportunity to help. Both men have choices. When I read this passage of scripture several more times, I found something else remarkable about this story. Regardless of their different financial status, both men were capable of helping the hurt man.

 

I remember, in 1986, two weeks before my middle brother’s graduation from college, he had a terrible car accident. My husband and I lived three hours away, so we asked neighbors to take care of our boys then we hit the highway. The wait in the ER was horrible. When the doctor finally came out to give us an update, he informed us that my brother had crushed the left side of his body—his left hip, crushed most of the bones in the left side of his face, and he lost his left eye. His jaws would be wired shut for six weeks. Upon hearing this news, I fainted.

 

After the doctor and my husband revived me, I phoned my mother.

 

One of the things I needed to do was find a place for my mother and her sister to stay because my husband and I would need to return home to see about our boys. So, I called the first Church of Christ in the phonebook. The gentleman on the phone was polite. I told him of our need, and he came to visit us at the hospital where we talked again. The bottom line, he told us there was no one to help us at this time.

 

My heart grieved. I didn’t know what to think of this. I sat in shock.

 

I took a deep breath, grabbed the telephone book, and called another church. A gentleman from a different congregation showed up. Though I can’t remember the man’s name or which congregation he attended, his kindness will never be forgotten.

 

Think about that.

 

Two churches. Both in the family of God. Only one seizes the opportunity to show God’s love.

 

Have you ever been on the receiving end of someone’s unwillingness to love you?

 

When this lesson is over, read I John 4:7-21, but because of time constraints, I want you to pay close attention to verse 10. It reads,

 

¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 

How many of you picked up on the importance of that verse?

 

Let’s read it again.

 

¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 

Wow.

 

Here is one of the things God is trying to tell us:  Don’t let your need or expectation for another’s love consume you. Sometimes we forsake too many of God’s commands for relationships. Stop it. Don’t compromise God’s commands. Don’t mix God’s perfection with debris.

 

Our love for one another must become a sacrificial act. Imagine what the Good Samaritan gave up to help the hurt man alongside the road. Love comes at great cost. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice. He gave of himself. We, too, must give of ourselves—freely, impartially, void of grumbles, and complaints. To love means to put the interest of others above YOU. (Philippians 2:3) Your sacrificial love should be guided by the Holy Scriptures, through biblical examples, not by fleshly and earthly desires.

 

Love is learned. God is our teacher. Through his Word. When you are born into your family, you have no idea what love means. You learn to love over a period of time, through interaction with your family. In I John 4:21, it reads,

 

And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Yes, love is learned. It’s a command. There are no other options. No grey areas. We. Must. Learn. To. Love. One. Another. Christianity is a family affair—a community of believers who stay tightly knitted together for the sole purpose of encouraging each other to remain obedient and reconciled to God.

 

Sisters, it is unfathomable for you to hurt and I walk away. It is shameful to see my sister in need of a babysitter so she can go back to work, but I sit back, quietly hoping she doesn’t approach me and ask for help. It is heart-wrenching to hear you gossip about someone merely because you’ve mistaken your blessings with that of financial status. (Matter of fact, because of your financial status, the burden is really on you to follow in line with God’s commands.) Possessing a different gift or being in a higher financial bracket shouldn’t make you prideful, selfish, stubborn, and conceited. By placing others beneath you, you will only instigate envy and jealousy, gossip and quarrels. Don’t cause God’s anger to burn against you, sisters.

 

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

 

You are my sister. And I am yours. Will you not stop and help me up? Will you walk over me and not look back?

 

In closing, remember to think about the sister who needs help. Please repeat these words in your heart as you read and declare this prayer:

 

Oh, merciful Father, whether I am loved by others or not, I declare before you Lord, that:

 

I am born into a family … a spiritual family of God. I’ve been grafted in … adopted … and made heirs to God’s kingdom. I am no longer willing to allow my sister to sit underneath my elaborate table to eat crumbs. I refuse to whisper words of deceit, be divisive, sow seeds of hate. I will encourage her, put wine and oil on her wounds, speak up and protect her in the face of slander. I will fight for her, carry her so she, too, will be able to taste the first fruits of our Father.

 

With all my heart, I will plead and pray for her continued obedience. I will reach out my hand and I will not turn my back on her. I will open the scriptures, teach her, correct her, refuse to uphold her wrong. I will not allow her to emphasize her shortcomings, but to speak truth into her until she sees the beauty of God’s creation.

 

My sister is part of a family … a spiritual family of God. She’s been grafted in … adopted … and God has made her an heir to his kingdom. Together, she and I will stand before God Almighty and reign forever with him.

 

THEREFORE, Satan, you are no longer welcomed here.

 

Please, oh God, keep him far from me.

 

For we are all a part of a spiritual family, closely knitted together, tethered to the heart of God. With my hand in yours … With your hand in mine … we will not falter … My sister will not fail, because

 

I AM MY SISTER’S KEEPER!

 

Amen! And Amen!

 

CALL YOUR SISTER OR BROTHER. Share the Word of our Father over a cup of coffee, or a cup of tea. Bless someone’s life today. Then sit back and wait upon the Lord.

Donna B. Comeaux

September 11, 2020