Brotherly Love

When Jesus walked on this earth He was often followed by many people, and surrounded by multitudes – yet He walked alone. No one on earth understood him. When He needed comfort He could only pour out His heart to His Father in heaven.

So each of us must walk our walk alone – solitary. We can befriend each other, we can love each other, we can try to help one another, but our inner self is a private chamber that only God has the key to.

Yet, sometimes there are souls that bond with other souls, and have an intuition of what the other may be going through. Yea, deeper than that, when one hurts, the other feels the pain. There is a poignant bond, a mysterious link between heart and heart.

POIGNANT: Keenly distressing to the mind or feelings: poignant anxiety. Affecting, touching, poignant sentiment. Latin: prick, pierce

Such a feeling Simeon predicted that Mary, the mother of Jesus would have: “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also.” Luke 2:35.

“Sanctified love for one another is sacred. In this great work Christian love for one another – far higher, more constant, more courteous, more unselfish, than has been seen – preserves Christian tenderness, Christian benevolence, and politeness, and enfolds the human brotherhood in the embrace of God, acknowledging the dignity with which God has invested the rights of every man. This dignity Christians must ever cultivate for the honour and glory of God.” MCP 244.

Yet we are all sinful, fallen human beings, and there is need of a lifelong vigilance.

“As long as life shall last there is need of guarding the affections and the passions with a firm purpose. There is inward corruption, there are outward temptations, and wherever the work of God shall be advanced, Satan plans so to arrange circumstances that temptation shall come with overpowering force upon the soul. Not one moment can we be secure only as we are relying upon God, the life hid with Christ in God.” MCP 238.

“Above all his companions, John the beloved disciple yielded himself to the power of that wondrous life; that divine life from which flowed every life-giving impulse that has blessed the world.”

And, “listen to Christ’s words, to His prayer to the Father, ‘I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.’ (John 17:26) What language is this! The Lord Jesus desires to shed abroad His love through every member of the body, His church, that the vitality of that love may circulate through every part of the body and dwell in us as it dwells in Him. The Lord then can love fallen man as He does His own Son; and He declares that He will be satisfied with nothing less than this in our behalf.” MCP 245.

This divine love is to flow through each of us, and through our church as a body.

“God would have His children realize that in order to glorify Him their affection must be given to those who most need it… No selfishness in look, word, or deed is to be manifested when dealing with those of like precious faith,… whether they be high or low, rich or poor. The love that gives kind words to only a few, while others are treated with coldness, and indifference, is not love but selfishness. It will not in any way work for the good of souls or the glory of God. Our love… is not to be sealed up for special ones, to the neglect of others. Break the bottle, and the fragrance will fill the house.” MCP 241-2.

“The love which Christ diffuses through the whole being is a vitalizing power. Every vital part – the brain, the heart, the nerves – it touches with healing. By it the highest energies of the being are roused to activity. It frees the soul from the guilt and sorrow, the anxiety and care, that crush the life-forces. With it comes serenity and composure. It implants in the soul joy that nothing earthly can destroy – joy in the Holy Spirit – health-giving, life-giving joy.” MH 115.

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 20-25.

Kathleen Ross, Alberta, Canada