Simply Angie
I hope you’ve all had a restful week. If your days have been anything like mine, they have been full and fast-moving, but I have been eagerly anticipating this next step in our study of Peter’s outline for Christian growth. Last week, we looked at godliness—a deep, reverent fear of God, creating a God-consciousness that results in righteous living out of a desire to please the Savior. Godliness never ends with ourselves. The closer we draw to the Father's heart, the more we begin to love the people He loves. It is impossible to grow nearer to God while remaining indifferent toward His children. Peter naturally follows godliness with brotherly kindness because one should produce the other.
At first glance, you might be tempted to wonder if brotherly kindness and charity are just two sides of the same coin. I’ll admit I was tempted to write about them together! But the more I meditated on them this week, the more I realized that combining them wouldn’t do either justice. In the original Greek, the word for brotherly kindness is philadelphia, which means a fond, affectionate, family-level love. It is specifically directed toward our fellow believers. Next week, we’ll think about agape (charity), which is the sweeping, unconditional love of God for the entire world, including our enemies. But this week, we need to look inside the household of faith. And if we are being entirely honest with one another, sometimes loving the family of God is harder than we’d like to admit. The Home-Court DisadvantageHave you ever noticed that we are often much more polite to a stranger on the street than we are to the people who live under our own roof? At home, we let our guard down. We are tired, we are relaxed, and unfortunately, we often give our family members the worst side of ourselves instead of the best. I think we can do something very similar within the family of God. Sometimes it is easier to show patience to a stranger than to a fellow believer who has disappointed us. Why? Because of our expectations. We expect more from Christians. We know Christians should act a certain way. We know they have the Holy Spirit, so when they fail us, get on our nerves, or act selfishly, our flesh reacts sharply. We are tempted to respond more harshly than we would toward someone who doesn't yet know Christ. But brotherly kindness requires us to look at our fellow believers through the lens of God’s grace. Yes, we expect holy living, but we must also remember that we are all made of frail dust. We are all growing at different speeds, wrestling with our own flesh, and stumbling along the way. If the Lord can remember our frame and show us mercy, surely we can extend that same grace to the brethren. In Honour Preferring One Another
Growing up, my mom had a wonderful habit of passing down little snippets of Scripture that would stick to our hearts. One of the verses she reminded us of frequently was from Romans:
She’d say, “Remember, Angie, ‘In honour preferring one another.’” To “prefer” someone else means to step back so they can step forward. It means putting their needs, their comfort, and their heavy hearts completely ahead of our own. The default nature of our sinful flesh is to love, protect, and satisfy ourselves. Most of us don’t have to be taught self-love; it is our natural baseline. Therefore, when we esteem others above ourselves, it is not a sign of low self-esteem. It is a conscious, disciplined choice resulting from a completely different way of thinking: adopting the mind of Christ. The Apostle Paul challenges us directly on this point in his letter to the Philippians:
Jesus is our ultimate example. He esteemed us more than Himself, voluntarily putting Himself to death on the cross because He valued us. When we choose to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of a brother or sister, we aren’t just being nice; we are actively aiming to imitate Jesus. We prefer one another not merely for the other person’s sake, but to please the Father. Brotherly Kindness in the Trenches
That all sounds beautiful on paper, but it is incredibly difficult when you are weary. Brotherly kindness is rarely convenient. Often, your own plans are interrupted. It is the choice you make when the long-awaited weekend or school holiday finally arrives, and your body is exhausted, begging you to just stay home and rest. But then the phone rings. A sister in Christ is having a crisis. Her husband is ill, she is lonely, she has no family nearby to help, and she is overwhelmed by the heavy trials of life. Your flesh screams, “I want to stay home!” But the spirit inside you looks at philadelphia and says, “No, she needs me more than I need my comfort.” So you get in the car, you drive the miles, and you sit with her. That is brotherly kindness worked out in reality. It is a deliberate sacrifice of our time, our energy, and our preferences for the sake of our family - His family. And let’s be honest about another inconvenient truth: sometimes, our efforts to help and love our fellow believers are not reciprocated. It can feel deeply isolating when you pour yourself out for others within the church, only to find yourself standing alone when you are the one in need. You might even find yourself enduring unfair criticism from the very people you sought to serve. If you have ever felt that sting, you are in good company. Paul knew that exact heartbreak when he wrote to the Corinthian church:
Brotherly kindness does not guarantee we will be appreciated, loved back, or treated fairly. But the love we have for Jesus should enable us to keep loving our brothers anyway. The Family Litmus Test
We cannot afford to treat this layer of growth as optional. Jesus Himself said that brotherly love would become the distinguishing mark of His disciples.
These are His words and His expectations. The Apostle John uses incredibly stark language in 1 John 3 to remind us that love is a verb. Love is not merely spoken, but actively demonstrated, proving who we are.
Simply saying we love the brethren does nothing. It is our actual treatment of them, our daily, practical brotherly kindness, that serves as the outward proof that we belong to Christ. We must always remember that we are not merely members of a social club or an organization; we are children of God, born into the same heavenly family. That shared identity changes everything. Because we are His children, we have been made worthy by His blood, and our brothers and sisters have been made worthy of that exact same family love. Therefore, when an opportunity to do good arises, our very first consideration should be to look out for our spiritual siblings. Paul sets the order of priority plainly: Love begins at home.
We are called to do good to everyone in this world, but our priority, our greatest allegiance of kindness, belongs within the family of God. Brotherly kindness is self-sacrifice. It is a daily discipline. We won’t master it overnight, and our flesh will throw a tantrum along the way. But as we continue to walk in the Holy Spirit, He gives us the supernatural capacity to lay down our preferences for our friends. Brotherly kindness doesn't usually require dramatic acts of heroism. More often, it looks like a listening ear, an encouraging text, a shared meal, a quiet prayer, or simply showing up when someone needs you. Ask the Lord this week to open your eyes to one opportunity to love a brother or sister in Christ in a practical way. Blessings, P.S. Families aren't perfect. They never have been. But they are worth loving anyway. The next time a fellow believer disappoints you, remember that God has shown immeasurable patience toward both of you. Thanks to all of you who have taken a few moments to check out Storybook Hut for me. I’d love to hear more honest feedback: pros and cons (don’t hold back). I am ready to promote to the wide world, so I’d like to have it thoroughly vetted by you first. If you haven’t already, please check it out and share your thoughts.
Talk to you again soon. Can’t wait?
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