Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Household of Believers



As I started to be a Christian, I felt like I was adopted into another family. Christians, for me, are people who accepted our Lord Jesus Christ and follow His footsteps. As I got into this new family, I began to feel like a different kind of person. It’s like I suddenly have the whole world as my siblings and God as our Father. Being in this kind of family, like a potter molding clay to form a beautiful creation, we must also be molded with values that can affect us and our new Christian family.




Family affection

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another on brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” – Rom 12: 9-10

As a member of a Christian family, we should let our love be without hypocrisy. Christians should be kindly affectionate to one another. Following God’s footsteps means doing what he’s doing. We must love others the way God loves us. We must be honest in our love and turn back on whatever is wrong or bad.

It is a sad fact that people do more bad things than good nowadays. Examples of such can be seen in the news like killings, kidnappings, rape, accidents, stealing and more. We certainly cannot change a person’s ways or attitude, but we can start with love as our guide and be a model to others. We shouldn’t repay evil for evil for we gain nothing but an evil reputation, but if we repay evil for good, we walk in the sight of the Lord and we prevent bad things from getting worse.

Giving honor to people is also one way of showing affection. Honoring our pastors can boost their confidence and give them the idea that God is supporting them. But giving honor is not just for our pastors but to all the members of our Christian family. Honor is like this price we get for doing our part as a member of this family.


Family attitude

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”- Rom 12: 11-12

Christians should be fervent in spirit. When we say “fervent”, it simply means eagerness to serve God. We should be active in doing God’s mission for us which is to spread his Good News to all. Some people are just willing to help out people they know or even just people they love, but being the children of God, we must not pick out people to help but be open arms to all the people because God desires for all to be saved (Rom. 10: 12).

Christians should also be able to endure tribulations. No one ever said that accepting the Lord Jesus as our personal Lord, God and Savior means that we will be free from pain, sufferings and trials. Being in this family, we should be strong enough to fight against the evil one. Satan would do everything to put our faith down but we must always put in our mind that with God, nothing is impossible (Lk. 1:37)


Family sharing

“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”- Rom. 12:13

Sometimes, people find it hard to give love to a stranger. Like giving alms to the needy, donating old clothes to the orphanage or simply helping an old lady cross the street. Giving love to a stranger is one of the important values that we should have, as a member of this family (Heb. 13:2). Simple gestures like that to people we don’t know gives them the idea of God’s love. Maybe after we do those gestures, we can say “God loves you”, as a way of sharing God to them. We should not hesitate to share our love to others just as God shared his most precious treasure, which is Jesus Christ, to us.

In conclusion, loving one another is not just the second greatest commandment that God gave us, but it is our duty as a Christian (2 Jn. 4-5). Loving others is our way of thanking God for everything that he has done for us. It is the key to uniting the Christians in this world. As a member of God’s family, we must live in love because love leads the way to God.



Article made by: Ana Sanchez

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