Encourage One Another
Family. It is a word that stirs feelings of affection to some and memories of pain for others. One of the reasons I love the church is that God has always provided spiritual mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. There is a kinship among the gathered body that transcends blood--a bonding that comes when people house the Spirit inside them. The outside world looking in doesn’t understand why the church must meet, as those who have found joy in fellowship understand the connection that occurs in the physical presence of those who have the same Father.
Unfortunately, just like our families of origin are the cause of heartache, the church can duplicate the experience. So much division would be avoided if we would live out Peter’s words to the church in chapter 3 verse 8 as we interact with each other.
Unity of Mind
To have unity of mind means to be focused on the same goal, be around the same cause, sharing devotion to the Lord, with the same attitude. It is pleasant to be in fellowship when we have a heavenly focus[1]. Recently I attended a BBQ with some friends and tension built as we shared our reactions to the pandemic and personal views around how certain situations were handled by different groups. Unity was gone because we were focused on matters of this world, not those of eternal significance. Not that we live with our head in the sand and avoid thinking of practical matters, but being tuned into when we are eroding the bond of peace within us[2] and return to considering our shared eternal values.
Sympathy
Having sympathy for your spiritual family means feeling what they feel. In Job 2:11, Job’s 3 friends exemplify this gift of presence when they sat with him for seven days in the ash heap in silence. They made a plan to be with him and weren’t intimidated that his suffering was great. Sometimes that means we celebrate with the joyful and mourn with the downtrodden[3]. When we acknowledge each other’s real feelings and try to relate, showing them a heartfelt response, we are acting like Jesus, who sympathizes with us in our weakness[4]. We don’t try to fix others or minimize their experience, but listen and show understanding.
Brotherly Love, a Tender Heart
To foster brotherly love, we must realize that those who share faith with us are our new family. Even Jesus, when visited by His biological mother and brothers as He was preaching, told the crowd that those were receiving His teaching were His true family[5]. Sometimes we are lucky and experience the bond of faith with our relatives. Since God calls those who share salvation with us a familial relationship, we must view it as eternal. How much better should we treat those who will be in our eternal family with compassion now, improving our relationship for all time. Open up your heart and allow yourself to make connections with those who worship with you. And what a blessing it is, if our natural family doesn’t meet our emotional needs, that God has provided an alternative to lean on.
A Humble Mind
Lastly, Peter instructs us to have a humble mind towards one another. Humility is one of the most misunderstood virtues that Christians are instructed to clothe themselves with[6]. Humility is simply not thinking of yourself. Many people think it means to put yourself down or think less of yourself than you are. In fact, having a humble mind means thinking of others instead of being self-focused. Think about how many conflicts and hurt feelings would be avoided if we considered another’s point of view more often.
Just last weekend I got to attend a wedding. Though it was small, I sat around the table with good friends, enjoying food, drink, and witty banter. We toasted after each speech, reminisced, and even got caught in a warm summer rain. This afternoon celebrating another’s God-given partnership reminded me how much I’ve missed gathering and celebrating in life. You may feel like this:
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. Romans 1:11–12
One way to curb that longing that come because of how separate we currently live, is to practice the four habits of fellowship above. In doing so, you will encourage others and satisfy your desire to live as a family with the people of God.
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