Did Jesus Mean It?

This year I have been challenged in how I think about my fellow believers. I tend to use labels such as teammates, colleagues, small group member, or church member. None of these are bad or inaccurate, but I have learned that they are not the way Jesus would have us think of each other. 

In Ephesians 2:19–20 Paul writes, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”

I was struck by how Paul’s labels move you and me into deeper relationships. From foreigners and strangers to citizens to members of the same household. It’s that word household that has taught me the most this year. Growing up I shared a household with my parents and two sisters. What made us a household was our shared bond, shared living space, and shared rules. 

Just think about the rules that helped your childhood household function as a unit. Some of the rules that formed and bonded us as family were:

No hitting your sister, and as we got older, no hitting the driver.

Write thank you notes for gifts.

When you hear your dad whistle, either come home or turn and look to see what he wants.

Help out when asked.

These rules brought my sisters and me together, they helped us get along until we grew into the maturity that no longer need the don’t hit the driver rule.

Referring to believers as siblings more than one hundred fifty times in the New Testament is no fluke. The authors were training Christ followers how to think of themselves and each other. I wonder what a difference it would make if we got back to using more family language in our conversations, correspondence, and even in our thoughts. It won’t magically change everything; but those sisters that I used to need the rule not to hit the driver when we were teens? They are still in my life. We are so, so, so different. If we weren’t sisters, I’m not sure they’d want to be my friend (kidding! Sort of). But because they are my sisters and we lived in the same household and operated under similar expectations, our differences are far outweighed by our love and commitment for each other.

As I type this devotion for you, that is my fervent hope and prayer for us too – all of us who go in the name of Christ – that our differences are far outweighed by our love and commitment to each other and that we will grow to see each other as siblings in the same household.

We are not competitors competing for limited recourses. We are not merely teammates or colleagues. We are siblings.

Key Quotation

We are not competitors competing for limited recourses. We are not merely teammates or colleagues. We are siblings.

Question

How would seeing others in your life as a sibling instead of a teammate or colleague make a difference in your work this week?

Amy Young, Global Trellis