Everyone. Everywhere. Part 2预览

Brotherly Love

As part of the body of Christ we are called to live in unity and to care deeply for one another. We must follow Jesus’ example of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We have been given the joyful task of encouraging and uplifting our brothers and sisters, but we have also been given the more difficult task of calling out our brothers and sisters when they are living in sin, and to forgive them when they have hurt us.

Matthew the tax collector has experienced both compassion and conviction from Jesus. During the time of Jesus, tax collectors were not people embraced by society. They were known as greedy people who would make a profit from collecting taxes. Jesus embraced Matthew and ate a meal with him. As he showed compassion, Jesus did not shy away from calling him a sinner. Jesus is the perfect example of embracing the outsider while exposing their sin. 

Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. What steps can you take to clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience?
2. Is there someone you need to forgive?
3. Who are the friends in your life who encourage you and call you out when necessary?

What’s Next:

1. Encourage at least one friend this week, and spur them on toward love and good deeds! Then thank God for the friends he has blessed you with! If you do not have friends like this, ask God to bring people into your life who will love you and spur you on in this journey. He deeply longs for you to have a community like this!