November 15, 2025 – Loving Fellow Believers

Loving Fellow Believers

Since we have a new purpose, new heart, new Master, how do we know where to even begin! As you read the Bible, you will see a lot of instructions and wisdom. It is a never ending well of wisdom. But someone else already wondered what is the greatest commandment. We see the conversation in Matthew 22:35-40 (LSB) “And one of them, a scholar of the Law, asked Him a question, testing Him, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. And the second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” These verses really say it all. Love the Lord your God then love your neighbor. The motivation for every act of love is powered by love of and for God. We are characterized by love for our fellow believers. 

Camels on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, overlooking the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”. Possible location of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

Who is my neighbor?

God says to love our neighbor as ourselves so the obvious question is. Who is our neighbor? We see in Luke 10:30-37 that the Samaritan is given as an example of loving our neighbor because he showed mercy, yet he did not know the man on the side of the road. This shows us that anyone we interact with can be our neighbor. But God also describes specific people whom we are called to love. 1 John 3:16-18 (LSB) “By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” These verses and many others command us to love fellow believers. In Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” In Titus 2:4 “older women are to instruct the young women in sensibility: to love their husbands, to love their children.” These verses deal with the marital relationship and I look forward to expounding on those areas in the future. But for now, let’s focus on loving fellow believers.

Barriers to Love – Lack of Knowledge

When it comes to loving others, we are not just talking about a feeling of love or an attitude of love. We saw in 1 John that it is in “deed and truth”. He is referring to an action of love. Our love is something visible. If you look at a list of “one another’s”, you will notice that a lot of them require some sort of action. If we are going to show this active kind of love, we actually have to be around other believers and paying attention to their needs. According to John 13:35 (LSB) ““By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”” Our greatest testimony to unbelievers will be our love for each other. When we love the brethren selflessly and with no hope of repayment, our light is shining for all the world. While we naturally love and care for our family, it is not natural to love someone sacrificially who is not part of our family. However, we are motivated and equipped by the gospel, to love the spiritual family in which God has placed us. We see in Ephesians 2:10 (LSB) “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” We see that God saved us for good works, which He prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Then it goes on to describe the body of Christ as two groups of people who have been reconciled in one body. This means we are now fellow citizens and are members of God’s household. We are being joined together and growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. This is so cool. I love the picture image of the “body of Christ”, “fitted together”, “built together”. A unique group of people on Earth specifically called to be a light to the world, a source of growth and encouragement for each other, and a dwelling place for the Spirit of God. Wow! What a blessing that we were specifically gifted with a way to love the body and grow with other believers. Since we are designed to need each other, why is it so hard to obey this command?

Barriers to Love – Lack of Understanding

There’s a joke about a man stranded on a rooftop during a flood. With water rising around him, he is offered a rescue by two boats and a helicopter. He refuses their help because he was waiting for God to save him. This did not work out well for him, and he ends up drowning. He asks God why He didn’t save him from drowning, and God responded with, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what else did you expect?” It’s silly, but it makes the point. The body of Christ is His provision for you. It is out of His love for us that He provides in this way, and yet we complain about his gift. We make excuses for ourselves because we really just can’t see the benefit or the blessing of sacrificing to show love to others. We don’t think we need anyone so why do they need us? “They can figure it out on their own.” But God does not make mistakes. He knows exactly what we need. He did not design us to be alone and independent from believers. If you are breathing, He still has work prepared for you to do for the body. 

Barriers to Love – Lack of Time

You might say, “but I don’t even have time after I love my husband and kids.” I would say that you probably have some examining to do. Loving the body does not look the same for everyone. A new mom does not have the same capacity for loving that a mom of teens might have and the older woman has a different capacity as well. But each season of life has opportunity to love each other. Take a look at your current season and make adjustments to fit in the priorities that God values. Maybe it is lack of discipline or possibly an abundance of extra activities that steal your time? Do you trust that God will supply your needs even while you are pouring yourself out? Do you have accountability from your husband or a good friend for how you spend your time? Are you doing more in your home than what is expected of you by your spouse? Do you strive for simplicity in your life so you can love others more often, or do you search for ways to relax more often and crave that “me time”? Does your child’s schedule keep you from serving? (sports, academics, friends) Are you unwilling to be inconvenienced? These are hard questions, and I must admit that the struggle is real. I am daily confronted with the choice to love others or love myself. Love my children or love myself. These are moment-by-moment decisions, and we are accountable to God for how we spend our time. God says in James 4:17 (LSB), “Therefore, to one who knows to do the right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.” In 1 Peter 5:8 (LSB) we are commanded “Be of sober spirit, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”. Don’t be distracted by activities and busy schedules that make you feel like you are just too busy to do anything else. God’s plan is always the best, and He has specifically designed us to need each other and to take care of each other.

Barriers to Love – Where do I start?

We are all gifted in different areas and have different opportunities to love. We have different personalities and lives. But one thing we all have in common…this list of commands from God to “one another”. God doesn’t leave this open to preference or personal conviction or convenience. This is not a grey area. It is clear and expected. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And He commands us in many verses to love. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t follow through on a thought or idea immediately, it will never happen. “I wonder if so-and-so could use some help since she has a new baby” has to lead to a quick text to ask if she needs anything. “I bet my husband would really appreciate it if he knew I prayed for him today” has to lead to a quick text letting him know you prayed for him. And so on and so on. If you don’t have a way to keep a schedule, I think we just discovered your first place to start. Time runs away if you don’t harness it and make it work for you. If you are so busy that you have no windows of time to love someone in your life today, then your assignment is to sit down with your husband or on your own if you are single, and rearrange your week so that you have time to give to others. In reality, you probably won’t have to get any help to rearrange your schedule. You probably have lots of time that you can send a note, or buy someone’s lunch, or pray for that difficulty in someone’s life. 

Barrier to Love – My own strength

Start small but don’t stay small. Strive to be inconvenienced until it doesn’t feel like an inconvenience anymore. Strive to be spent at the end of the day by all the ways you loved the people in your life. We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 12:9(LSB) “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” Your efforts are not sustainable without His strength, and you will find that all your service and love are from a heart of pride and self-reliance that is not pleasing to God. He wants the glory for all that you do. John 3:30 (LSB) “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Some Practical Ways to Love:

Speak the truth

Babysit

Be humble and ask for help

Run errands (together, or for them)

Take a meal

Pay an unexpected expense

Weep with those who weep 

Remember a need and try to fulfill it

Play date with purpose (organize a closet together)

Clean or do laundry for someone

Be available especially when it inconveniences you (last minute, late at night, during naps)

Be easy to serve

Pray with and for someone (and remind them you are praying)

Buy their lunch

Have people over for dinner 

Forgive and overlook a multitude of sins

Grow in wisdom so you can share with those in need

Faithfully attend small group 

Forgive

Rejoice with those who rejoice

Pursue holiness

Text a note of encouragement (or draw a picture if you can’t write, just like the one below)