Family

Family

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10 NIV

I have been driving Honda Accords since the late 1980's. I have gotten used to the slumberous and numb handling of my Honda. But one day my brother Jerome loaned me his BMW 5 series. It was exhilarating! For starters it was ten times more powerful than my Honda. It handled the way a car should. And as much as I enjoyed driving the “Ultimate Driving Machine”, I couldn’t wait to return it. I drove it about 3 blocks and I started getting paranoid. All I could think about was returning it to its owner, unharmed. I respected the owner and more than anything else, I did not want to abuse his trust. I wanted to return his property exactly how it was given to me. I wonder if we have been as careful with the people of God as I was with Jerome's BMW?

I don't think we should be as nervous around other believers as I was behind the wheel of the Beamer. I don't think we should walk on proverbial egg shells around other believers either. We should be free to be ourselves around each other. We have to be willing to humbly accept and give correction, otherwise, how will we be able to sharpen each other (Proverbs 27:17)? And we should be cognizant that we have to bear each others troubles (Galatians 6:2). And shouldn’t we forgive each other as God always forgives us (Colossians 3:13)?

I think we should handle our brothers and sisters in the faith with care. We should treat them with grace, as we are recipients of that same godly grace. Let every word and act be tempered with love. Our love for each other will act as a sign to others that we belong to Christ (John 13:34). God has loaned me every brother and sister in “the Faith”. They are the sole property of God our Father. And as I deal with my faith-siblings, I need to consider whether I am going to return them to the father in good condition or if I have caused dents, scratches and damages.