The Bible has much to say about our relationship with God. For example, we are to love God (Mark 12:30). We are to obey God (John 14:15), which is how we demonstrate our love for Him. Our relationship with God also includes reverence (Hebrews 12:28). Yet, the Bible has much to say about our relationships one with another. For a moment let’s focus on those words “one another.”
Love One Another (John 15:12, 17)
There are different kinds of love mentioned in the Bible. The word “love” in the Greek rendered “agapao” is defined as a love of action. We must have this type of love toward our brethren. It is a love of choice. I will choose to love my brother because he is a fellow citizen in the kingdom.
Forbear One Another (Ephesians 4:2)
To forbear means to bear or endure, in other words to put up with someone. In the context of my brethren, this means that I must love brethren that I do not even like, and put up with their misgivings and personality quirks that I may not appreciate. A church is a group of people with different backgrounds, interests and personalities. We are not all similar in these areas. However, we have a common bond and a common goal. Thus, we put up with differences of opinion and different temperaments at times because we are forbearing.
Be Kindly Affectionate to One Another (Romans 12:10)
This verse says we are to be affectionate. This means to have a fondness for one another with brotherly love (“phileo”). We prefer each other over friends of the world because of the common bond we have. This indicates that there is more that I must do than just put up with my brothers or sisters in Christ.
Admonish One Another (Romans 15:14)
Admonish means to put in mind, to caution or gently reprove. This will be much easier to do if we have a close relationship. Admonishing is a delicate matter because it must be done with caution and with the proper attitude. That being said, it must be done, and it is crucial to the success of any healthy congregation. We need to watch out for our fellow brethren and bring them back when they step out of line with God’s commands.
Serve One Another (Galatians 5:13)
The word “serve” here means to be in voluntary bondage, a willing slave. We are to be willing slaves to Christ, but we are also to be willing slaves to our brethren. Let us look for opportunities to help those we love the most. Often people are more than willing to help their physical family, how much more, then, should they we be willing to help their spiritual family (Galatians 6:10)?
Forgive One Another (Colossians 3:13; Ephesians 4:31-32)
If we expect to get forgiveness, we must be willing to give forgiveness to our brethren when they come to us in repentance. This verse says, “If any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” We must show mercy to others if we expect to receive mercy from Almighty God (James 2:13).
May we be challenged to think each day about our relationship with God. However, let us also be challenged to focus on the special relationship we are to have with one another.
