One Big Happy Family?

My brother upsets me more quickly than perhaps anyone else on the planet. And probably vice versa. To be honest, we've never had the kind of relationship part of me wishes we'd had. We were just too different. Yet when we needed each other, we were there for each other. He is my brother.

But he is only my blood brother...or perhaps better said, my earthly brother. The bonds that Christ has placed on all those who believe in Him are far stronger than any DNA my brother and I might be very similar in. Far stronger than our shared experiences and trials. Far stronger than all the times we've fought and reconciled. Far stronger than all the times we've been there for each other.

When you go to church, do you think of everyone there as a brother and sister? No, you probably don't even know most of them if you're in a large church. When someone cuts you off in traffic, do you remember that God loves that person every bit as much as He loves you? When you see someone in the world going home with a random person every night, do you judge them or recall that God yearns for that person to realize what they're doing to themselves and what they're missing out on? When your brother or sister in Christ sins against you, do you hold a grudge because "they should have known better than to treat me like that" or do you forgive readily? More than any family member on earth, you are blood relatives of the body of Christ.