1 Thessalonians 4:9
“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”
One of the key elements of the Christian life is love. It was love that caused Jesus to leave Heaven to come to Earth to die for the sins of mankind. It was God’s love that allowed His Son to become the sacrificial lamb for the world. Love is no doubt the banner of the Christian.
Sadly, one of the areas where we tend to struggle is in the area of loving one another. It should be our love for one another that the world sees, but I’m afraid what the world often sees is fighting and squabbling between the brethren. I’m not condoning compromise, but you don’t have to compromise to love one another. In 1 Thessalonians 4, God shows us the traits of brotherly love. These traits should be found in every Christian.
The first trait of brotherly love is that it’s not selfish. Notice in the verse above that you are to “love one another.” Love is not about what I can get out of it, but what I can put into it. Oftentimes we say we love someone, but we only “love” them when they can do something for us. That is not love! Love is totally unselfish. Love is more interested in how it can help another instead of what another can do for you. Brotherly love is a spouse doing what they can to meet the other’s needs. Brotherly love is the sibling trying to help the needs of the other siblings. Brotherly love is Christians trying to meet each other’s needs. The very core of brotherly love has nothing to do with what you get out of a relationship but how much you can put into it.
The second trait of brotherly love is minding your own business. Verse 11 says, “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business…” If you truly love someone, then you are not going to be the spiritual policeman who constantly preaches at them every time you see them do wrong. Let the Holy Spirit do the convicting. If you truly want to be one who loves the brethren, then mind your own business and love them for who they are.
The third trait of brotherly love is being honest. Verse 12 says, “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without…” Honesty is the best example of love. There is no love in dishonesty. If you truly love someone, then you will be honest all the time. In other words, you need to live a transparent life that is the same all the time. Being honest isn’t always easy, but it is brotherly love. You can’t help people when they are dishonest. It takes honesty to love.
The fourth trait of brotherly love is not being expecting of others. Verse 12 continues to say, “…that ye may have lack of nothing.” In other words, brotherly love is not having your hand out expecting everyone else to meet your needs, but it is you finding a way to make sure your needs are met. Too many Christians live with their hand out expecting everyone else to do something for them when brotherly love will do what they can to take care of their own needs.
Do you have the traits of brotherly love? The greatest testimony a Christian can have is to love one another. Brotherly love is not laying down truth to get along, but it is living truth 24/7. You will help more people when you start exhibiting the traits of brotherly love.