“Love one another with brotherly affection” ROMANS 12:10

we need to cultivate tender affection not only for our family members but also for those who are related to us in the faith. What is tender affection? It is a term that specifically describes the warm friendship between close family members. That is the kind of love we should cultivate for our spiritual family, our Christian brothers and sisters. When we show tender affection, we help maintain the unity that is a vital part of true worship. At times, we may need to “stretch” and “strain” in order to have tender affection for a fellow believer. When others upset us, we need to continue “putting up with one another in love, earnestly endeavoring to maintain the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace.”

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. EPHESIANS 4:1-3(NKJV)

When we work to maintain the “bond of peace,” we will look beyond our brothers’ faults. We will try our best to view our brothers as Jehovah does. It is not always easy to show tender affection for our brothers and sisters, especially when we are aware of their faults.

Everyone who belongs to Jesus should to us. And we owe all of them tender affection and brotherly love. That’s hard because most of us have some inner qualifications. We don’t like this group or that denomination. Maybe we’re not comfortable with people who speak in tongues or with those who use a Prayer Book. We may even distrust people who have a different worship style that we do. Maybe we have some preferences regarding skin color or ethnic background. All of this kind of thinking is simply wrong and must be abandoned. God’s kingdom is not limited to graduates of one seminary or members of one denomination or to people who look, think and act alike. God’s kingdom embraces all true believers no matter who they are or what church they happen to attend.

Prayer of the Day: Father in the name of Jesus, give me wisdom on how to relate peaceable with everyone and grant me grace to live out brotherly affection as you have commanded in your Word. Thank you for helping me to be a practitioner of your Word.