#DailyDevotion Especially Show Christ’s Love To Fellow Christians
Heb. 13 Christians, keep on loving one another. 2Don’t neglect to welcome guests. This is how some without knowing it had angels as their guests. 3Remember those in prison as if you were in chains with them, and those who are mistreated as if you could feel it.
Sometimes I wonder if Christianity in some places is falling in adherents because we don’t do this. The thing we are not doing as well as we should is loving one another. Our eye has been taken off this ball and placed on loving everyone as the main thing. But loving everyone isn’t the main thing. That is God’s job. Not that we shouldn’t love all people we come in contact with because Jesus died for them and they bear the image of God, but it isn’t the main thing. Loving one another, that is, our fellow Christians, especially those we worship with is the main thing.
What did Jesus say? In John 13, Jesus says, 34“I’m giving you a new commandment: Love one another! Love one another as I have loved you. 35By your loving one another everyone will know you’re My disciples.” He repeats this again in John 15. Paul in 1 Thess. 4 says, “9You don’t need anyone to write you about brotherly love, because God has taught you to love one another, 10and you are practicing it toward all the Christians all over Macedonia.” In 1 Pet. 1 we read, “22Now that by obeying the truth you purified yourselves to love sincerely as brothers, love one another with a pure heart and intensely.” John writes in his first epistle 3, “11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: Love one another.”
Who is Jesus speaking to? His disciples. It is His disciples showing love to one another as Jesus has shown them that demonstrates they are His disciples. It is not their love in general for all humanity that demonstrates it. People in the Roman Empire were amazed at the love Christians showed for one another.
Paul’s quote shows how the Christians there showed their love for their brothers, their fellow Christians all over Macedonia. They were known for showing love towards their fellow Christians.
Peter and John follow this pattern in commending the disciples they were writing to show love for one another. We should most especially show love for our fellow disciples because we are going to be spending all eternity with these people. The people who reject Jesus and the people who do not believe in Him are not our “main” focus in showing the love of Jesus towards. We should be asking ourselves regularly how we can serve the members of our congregations extraordinary love, sacrificial love as Jesus has loved us.
The author also no doubt is remembering Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats in Matt. 25 in this exchange, “39‘When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for one of My brothers here, however humble, you did for Me.'” Who are Jesus’ brothers? It is not everyone. What does Jesus say? What does He teach? In Luke 8 Jesus says, “21“My mother and My brothers are these . . .who hear and do what God says.” Those in prison would fellow believers imprisoned for the Faith. Does this mean we shouldn’t do good to all people? No. But we especially should show love, sacrificial love to our fellow Christians. (Gal. 6:10)
Heavenly Father, grant unto us such faith that seeks to love our fellow Christians as Jesus has loved us, so we may be witnesses of His love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.