Properly executed, brotherly love is an amazing quality of the Church. There is no wonder why God commanded brotherly love among the members of the Church. The Hebrew writer said, “Let love of the brethren continue” (Heb. 13:1). According to 1 Peter 3:8, members of the church are to be (1) like-minded. We are to be of the same mind concerning the Word of God in our lives, our worship to God and our salvation. This attitude will lead to unity and love among the ranks of the church. This is imperative to our salvation and peace. Also, we are instructed to be (2) compassionate. If we are to have compassion, we must develop an attitude of sympathy for one another. We must remember that each of our brethren are living life just as we are and that they like us have trouble in life and need compassion manifested in sympathetic actions and tones (1 Corinthians 12:26). We are to love as brethren according to Peter. (John 13:34). While we must have love for all men, it must begin at home if we are to succeed. Then Peter instructs us to be tender hearted. This is involves having an attitude of compassion and pity for our fellow members, realizing that they have many of the same life struggles that we have. While this does not mean that we are to accept false teachings it does suggest that we are to have understanding with patience. Finally, Peter states that we are to be humble minded (Romans 12:20). This quality is needed because it involves our humility coupled with friendliness. But brotherly love does not just happen, it must be worked at to be achieved (1 Thess. 1:3). It is apparent that many problems among the brethren, if not all, are linked to our inability to show the proper love one for another. Therefore, it is imperative to initiate this type of love for each other.
Paul helps us to attain proper love as he discusses love in Romans 12. There he shows us that love must be without hypocrisy. In other words, our love must be real. In 1 Peter 1:22, Peter teaches that our love must be unfeigned. This word lends to the idea that our love must not be hypocritical. Jesus referred to many of his day as hypocrites (Matt. 23:27-28). He told them that they were as whited sepulchers. On the outside they appeared one way and on the inside they were quite different. Such is a detriment to the Church and her work.
In Paul’s discussion, he shows that proper love repels all that is evil while embracing that which is good (Romans 12:9). Cleaving to good is imperative for the purity of the Church. Our love must be real with true tenderness and affection (Romans 12:10). Love that does not express itself is not love at all but a pretense; so love will always be manifested in our lives (1 John 3:16-18). Proper love seeks to put others first in a zealous way. (Romans 12:10-11). Paul in verses 12-13 shows that proper love involves earnestness of love, hopeful rejoicing, diligence when tribulations come. He reminds us that we are to pray steadfastly while we look to the needs of others.
Paul wants us to see that love is the supreme quality that one MUST have in his life. The question is do we have the proper kind of love for our brethren. This is important for our very souls depend upon us having an exhibiting proper love.
(Tony Hoss is minister at Centerview Church of Christ, Elizabethton)