One Another

Turns out, there are over 50- ONE ANOTHERS- in the New Testament which are commandments instructing the body of Christ in how to treat each other. 

Many of these, you cannot do on zoom or fb or the internet. For example, "Greet one another with a holy kiss." To greet someone, it requires you to be face to face and to have a kind and welcoming countenance. To have affection toward one another.

" And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24 

My dear friend printed out The 50 (ish) ONE ANOTHERS, for me, and I have been going over them to get a sense of the early church's practices. 

If you are in a large or mega church...there must be cell groups in order to fulfill His Word. Even in a medium size church there should be home gatherings. 

During the covid shut down it is morally and legally wrong to shut down your gatherings. You must find a way to gather in small groups whether it be in back yards or streets, beaches or parks. We must obey God rather than man in this case.

At least half of the 50- ONE ANOTHERS- requires a verbal communication or an exchange of words. The other half seem to suggest an attitude of the heart or modeling your love through actions. 

Our demeanor makes up a great deal of our witness. So many of the ONE ANOTHERS just say, "LOVE ONE ANOTHER." Yet this is an art which some must learn because we have not learned it in our homes. 

It is just as important as learning The Biblical Covenants and Biblical doctrines. Our Pastors should absolutely be modeling this for us!

Remember, showing hospitality is a central requirement for a deacon or elder. The Lord has revealed to me that hospitality is one of the pillars of wisdom. It certainly is a central theme with Jesus and Father God. 

Jesus appears to John in Revelation as the Alpha and Omega. The first thing He requires of the 7 churches is to "return to your first love. "

I'm pretty sure the western church is on a HARD RESET right now because we need to repent. We have fallen from our first love. 

Scripture teaches that GOD IS LOVE. If we are passionately in love with The Creator (of love itself) then it will surely be easier to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. It is within the small home groups that everyone is able to share from their hearts. 

As a Kindergarten teacher (of over 25 years) I learned something invaluable. When I gave children a trusted space to share and talk, they were almost always able to develop their listening skills. 

They received respect and value from myself and the group for their ideas and the issues of their hearts and then in return, could give the respect back.

Scripture warns us to guard the wellspring of our hearts. We teach each other how to do this when we take time to listen. We have over achieved in teaching and preaching but listening is a rare art. 

One of the ONE ANOTHERS is to "share one another's burdens." How can we do this without an exchange of words & affection?

 You must feel welcome and safe to open your heart to others. I'm not talking about people who just dump their junk on the group. We do need to create boundaries for home groups. 

Taking the time to actually sit down and exchange testimonies and challenges; this is so important and a true expression of loving ONE ANOTHER.