Shalom, a good morning to you and a blessed day in the Lord.
"I am still saddened by the way emile trapped you and if you wish to continue to call him your brother then so be it. Just for the record David."
To explain my feelings about brotherhood I shall refer to the concept of birth. I have two blood brothers, I had no choice in the matter of our relationship. Neither do I have a choice in the matter of a continuing relationship as brothers. This was established by the Lord as we were born into the family. Just because a brother might commit an act of harm against me(and they have), I cannot disown him. He is still my blood brother. To me, this is the same idea in the family of God. Emile and I were born into God's family(accepting his testimony as fact). We cannot be unborn from that family regardless of anything we might say or do. Family is family. Agreement or dis agreement is another thing but we are still commanded to love the brother.
Shalom, dear brother, I try to comply with the following teaching of Christ, ""But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Mat 5:22 KJV)
"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;" (Mat 5:23 KJV)
"Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." (Mat 5:24 KJV)
To me Jesus is saying that reconciliation with a brother has priority over worship. Indeed, worship is not possible unless one is reconciled to his brother. If one cannot be reconciled to his brother, how can he be reconciled to God? If not reconciled, how can he worship? I love the story of Joseph. When I read that he wept, I weep because I see this as Christianity in action! - Psalms 133: v1. The blessedness of unity among brethren.
"A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psa 133:1 KJV)
Looking at myself, I often wonder what God thinks of some of His children. I guess I could ask, but I'm a little afraid of the answer.
Jesus will always be Lord. May He bless you with all the riches of glory,
David |
