We Are Brothers And Sisters
JOHN 17:23 NLT23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
Jesus indicates there is something about the unity of believers that will cause the world to believe. This does not mean we will ever agree on every doctrine, or that we must all join the same church denomination.
No! God is a God of diversity who makes every snowflake and every person unique. God does not expect us all to think and be alike. But God does expect us to obey His law of love.
We should walk in love and respect one another. Really we should do that toward all people -- how much more those in God's own family, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We will never agree on every detail of everything simply because we are all learning and growing. None of us knows everything yet. We are like the Apostle Paul and only know in part.
JOHN 17:21 NKJ
21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Our unity must be based on being in Christ and our submission to Him as our Lord, not in all of us thinking and acting the same. Humans, being unique, will always approach things in their own individual way. Our unity can never be on the basis of conformity. Brothers and sisters are not all alike. We have different giftings, different callings, and different perspectives.
Maybe you are certain that your doctrine is right and everyone else is missing it. You may be right! Regardless, your brothers and sisters have not been kicked out of God's family just because they have not learned all that you know. So quit trying to act like the parent and straighten out your siblings. God will do that.
What we must agree on is that anyone who acknowledges Jesus Christ as their Lord is our brother or sister in Christ. No matter how goofy they may act, or how ignorant they may seem, they belong in our family and we have a responsibility to protect them and help them. Our Father God did not give us the responsibility of correcting them or judging them -- He can handle that task very well by Himself.
A good older brother who has a younger sibling who is mentally or physically challenged will not join in with hecklers to torment, but protects his sibling from such attacks. Surely, when we realize that all who acknowledge Jesus are children of God, we can do the same for them.
We must quit criticizing and condemning others who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not matter what they believe or don't believe on any other doctrine. If they acknowledge Jesus Christ is Lord, they are in our family -- we are on the same team. We should fight the devil and not our own family.
I am not advocating compromise -- but maturity. We should not act like spoiled two-year-old brats. We are children of the King!
REVELATION 12:10 NLT
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has come at last -- salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth -- the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
Sadly, many Christians have helped the devil accuse our brothers and sisters in Christ. But we must not do the devil's dirty work!
It is to be expected that other Christians will fail and do wrong -- not one of us is fully mature and perfect in Christ yet. When one of our family falls down, we should help pick them up instead of kicking them while they are down.
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