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When
Brethren Love One Another
Bubba Phillips
Brethren, let's face it – "talk is cheap." Brethren
can tell one another they love one another, and they may even
act like they love one another, but it does not necessarily
mean that they do love one another. When brethren love one
another, what do they do?
When brethren love one another, they bear one another's burdens
(Gal. 6:2).
When brethren love one another, they encourage one another
(Heb. 3:13).
When brethren love one another, they care about their brethren's
hurts. They do not ignore them but give of themselves in order
to be of help (Rom. 12:12,15)!
When brethren love one another, they enjoy being with one
another. That's the way it was in the early church (Acts 2:42,46),
and isn't that the way it needs to be today?
When brethren love one another, they restore erring brethren
(Gal. 6:1). They care enough and love enough to kindly correct
and teach the necessity of repentance and prayer.
When brethren love one another, they forgive each other. They
do not hold grudges. They do not dwell on past hurts or past
offenses (Mark 11:25-26).
When brethren love one another, others recognize it. How we
all need to be reminded of this great result of Christians
properly loving one another (John 13:34-35).
Do we truly love our brethren? Do
we just "say" so,
or do we really "do" so?
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