The Family of God

April 30, 2024

“Let love of the brethren continue.” (Hebrews 13:1 NASB95)

This verse teaches us that we are brothers and sisters in the Lord.  We are a family—the family of God.  What is the nature of God’s family and how does one become a part of it?  It is a spiritual family, not a physical one.  By this I mean that we must be born into God’s family through supernatural means.  When we were immersed into Christ, God caused us to be born again, not of human flesh and blood, but of His Spirit (John 3:5-6) We were born again, not of human will, but of the will of God. (John 1:12-13).  We were born into His family, not of perishable seed, but imperishable seed, through the living word of God which we received. (1 Peter 1:23) God’s family consists of all of those who have been reborn in this way and can truly call God their Father.  In other words, God’s family is the church of Jesus Christ.  What a blessing that God has allowed us to be a part of His family!

But being a member of a family comes with family obligations.  Just as we have obligations to our physical family, so too we have obligations to our spiritual family.  The main obligation in any family is to love one another.  And in the family of God, we are to love one another deeply.  We are to love one another sincerely and fervently from our hearts (1 Peter 1:22) This brotherly love is the overarching obligation that fulfills all other obligations.  For example, if we love one another, we will spend time with one another.  If we love one another, we will serve one another.  If we love one another, we will encourage one another.  We will forgive one another when there is a squabble.  When a member of the family is in trouble, we will drop what we are doing and come running to help.  Are you fulfilling your family obligations?  Are you making brotherly love a priority?

It’s not all obligation, you know.  You and I will reap great rewards for continuing in brotherly love.  What better place to find a sense of belonging than with the family of God?  What better place to cultivate deep, lasting friendships than with God’s children?  What better place to find purpose in life than with the church of the Living God?

May God help us to grow in our love for one another!       

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

A Sincere Love of the Brethren

May 31, 2022

“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart…” (1 Peter 1:22 NASB) When we obeyed the truth of the gospel, God purified our souls.  He washed us and cleansed us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ.  This grand reality should have major effects in our lives!  One of the things that purification of our souls should produce in us is a sincere, fervent love of the brethren.

How do you feel about your brothers and sisters in the Lord?  If there is little love, little care, and little concern for them, it could be (considering the verse above) that there is little obedience to the truth and little striving for purity in your life.  Obedience to the truth and a purified soul naturally lead to a love of God’s people—a real, genuine, unfeigned love.  I think this is because as we walk with the Lord, we begin to realize in deeper ways how precious each member of the church is to Him.  We begin to realize in a greater way that we are in this together.  We begin to realize that we need one another, and fervent love begins to grow.

I want to encourage you today to take steps to build that fervent love for your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Make a renewed effort to reach out and build relationships with the members of your spiritual family.  Reach out today to someone who you may not have met yet, or who you may not know well.  Reach out not only to those who are in a similar stage of life as you, but also to those who may be much older than you, or much younger than you.  Reach out to our new members and show hospitality to them.  Reach out and introduce yourself to those who may be visiting our assembly.  If you sit in the front, try to meet someone who sits in the back, and vice-versa.  Don’t worry about not having anything in common.  We have everything that is important in common!  The love of God and Christ Jesus, and the love of His truth bind us together!  Getting to know one another is a great first step in expressing our brotherly love for one another.   

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin