Thursday; November 2

How do we see the people in the church? There are a variety of ways to look at other Christians. Sometimes, we see them as too aloof to be approachable. Other times, we might see them as rivals for programs or attention. Some might be perceived as holdovers from past generations that keep us from achieving our leadership roles. We might even devalue some as hypocrites creating issues in the church or giving us a black eye. Now, I realize that each one of our relationships will be different, but the other day I came across a passage of Scripture that can be used as a way to help formulate our relationships. Timothy’s mentor, Paul, reminded him, “Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.” (I Timothy 5:1-2). Simply, Paul challenges Timothy to treat Christians as he would a healthy family. It is often tempting to apply some qualities of a dysfunctional family to the church, but when we care for each other we can have successful relationships.

We all know the need to be a part of the family of God, but let’s make sure we apply the principles of loving family to other Christians. When we do this, we’ll not only grow in number, we’ll also grow together in spirit.

Think About It!

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