One Another

April 11, 2015 Christianity and Culture Mark McIntyre 5 Comments

While reading Philip Yancey’s book Vanishing Grace, I ran across a list of statements made is Scripture which contain the words “one another.” Here is the list presented by Mr. Yancey:

Love one another
Forgive one another
Pray for one another
Bear one another’s burdens
Be devoted to one another
Regard one another as more important than yourself
Do not speak against one another
Do not judge one another
Show tolerance for one another
Be kind to one another
Speak truth to one another
Build up one another
Comfort one another
Care for one another
Stimulate one another to love and good deeds.

He then goes on to ask the question:

I wonder how different the church would look to a watching world, not to mention how different history would look, if Christians everywhere followed that model.

This is a great question and one that we should take very seriously.

The point is not to beat ourselves up by our failures in implementing these “one anothers.” The point is that we should be seeking God to empower us to better live these out.

Rather than being overwhelmed at my failure to do these well, I should be encouraged that the desire to do them well is an indication of God’s handiwork in my life. I should also seek to be in fellowship with others that want to do these well and are seeking God for the power to do so.

One caution, the danger in church circles is to limit the “one another” to those in the church. But, I paraphrase Jesus here, if you love those who love you back, what’s the point?

If we did a better job of “one anothering” those outside the church, perhaps those on the outside would see less of our failures and more of Jesus.

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

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