Wilderness Wanderings

These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for "people are slaves to whatever has mastered them." If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud" (2 Peter 2:17-22).

The apostle Paul wrote, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). And in Romans, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin" (6:6-7).

This chapter is Peter's take on this subject. The false teachers are leading recent converts back into slavery to sin. These new Christians, having begun to change their lives, leaving behind pagan ways, were now being told that in Christ they have the freedom to return to those ways without condemnation. Since Christ has set us free from judgement we can go and do what ever we want. Peter's converts would have fewer problems if they could join in the pagan feasts, make offerings to the gods, and so forth. Our lives are easier too if we make the same choices as our unbelieving neighbours.

Peter and Paul are in full agreement with each other. Jesus did not set us free from condemnation so that we might become trapped in sin again. Sinful lifestyles do not set us free, ask anyone who has a family member or friend addicted to alcohol or drugs, to gambling or video games. Ask someone who is obsessed with making money or a person who has little control over their sexual appetite. They are not free. They are enslaved by their sinful behaviour and the internal desires of the flesh.

They are like a 'dog that returns to its vomit' or a 'sow that is washed returns to wallowing in the mud." There may be an allusion to the cleansing symbolized in baptism here. These people, washed in baptism, returned to the same mudhole of sin. They are like animals with animal instincts. No self-control.

Why does this matter? As Paul says, "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love" (Galatians 5:13). This has been Peter's point as well. The grace of God works into our lives all sorts of wonderful qualities (see 1:5-7) which lead us towards love, agape. This is the work of God's grace and of the Spirit of Jesus in our lives.

But these folks are still being controlled by the desires of the sinful nature. There is no room for love. They are enslaved to other things. They are being ineffective and unproductive, they are being nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins (2 Peter 1:8-9).

Don't be like them, warns Peter, for when you walk away from the grace of God, you will discover it is more difficult to find your way back.

As you journey on: Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. (2 Peter 2:12-16)

Yesterday, Pastor Michael covered Peter's defence of God's judgement. Now Peters turns to speak of the deeds done by the false teachers for which that judgement comes.

I skipped a few verses (10b-11) here which speak of how these false teachers slander celestial beings—like demons or the devil, perhaps. Then Peter condemns them for speaking boastfully and blasphemously about things they don't understand. He condemns them for adultery, greed, and seductions—all while joining in the regular Christian feasts and fellowship.

There is a deceitfulness underneath all of this which Peter is attempting to reveal. Something which places spot and blemish on the church which, through the Spirit, is supposed to be cleansed from its spots and blemishes. So Peter makes a distinction between this group of false teachers and the rest of the community who their behaviour tempts. A distinction as clear as that between animals and humans.

The main principle used is that of "harm for harm." Even as yesterday's theme was that God's justice demands a judgement that separates the righteous from sinners, today's theme suggests that God's justice is just—that it is fitting, reciprocal in such a way that the punishment fits the crime.

These false teachers have done harm, and so will be paid back for the harm they have done. They act as unreasoning creatures of instinct, no better than animals—worse even, because even the unreasoning creature that was Balaam's donkey knew better than to do what these people do! Balaam too was one who loved "the wages of wickedness," which in Greek is exactly the same phrase as used earlier in the phrase "paid back for the harm they have done."

The picture is of those who follow their most base desires and influence others to do the same, rather than receive the far better "wages" of God's everything-we-need gifts that conform us to the likeness of Christ. Instead of following animal instincts that make us less than human, the invitation is to become ever more fully human in Christ.

What base behaviours do we condone by going along with them in our own community? Greed and alcohol abuse, for instance, have long been overlooked or tolerated as relatively harmless sins. From Christian high school onward—a silent agreement of "we're all good Christians here" has allowed us to collude with one another in parties and shrewd, anything-to-get-ahead practices of greed. Do we count the cost of the harms this behaviour does across a lifetime to those swallowed up by substance abuse (and their loved ones)? Or the impact to our witness to Christ when Christians are more ruthless and rude in their workplace practices than non-Christians?

Peter invites us to rise up to the fullness of the stature of Christ, rather than collude with others under the influence of costly base animal desires like these. If even a donkey knows better—we should too. To put Peter's point bluntly: don't be an ass (donkey!). Grow up and live like a human, fully alive in Christ!

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in the grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority (2 Peter 1:4-10a).

What a curious opening line to a text. Many will want more information. Unfortunately, there is not any. It's helpful to know that the word translated 'hell' is the Greek word, Tartarus, a place of confinement, the underworld. It was not used to describe permanent punishment.

Peter is still writing about the false teachers Pastor Anthony reflected on yesterday. In our text, he wants his readers to understand that these teachers would receive their punishment. To underscore his point, he references several events of long ago in which creatures received judgement for their rebellion against God.

Peter also tells his readers that in these events of judgement God redeemed the righteous. He mingles punishment and redemption. Its our tendency to separate these two, even to relegate punishment to the Old Testament and love and redemption to the New. Such views can only come from a hasty read of the Bible. Punishment and love, redemption and judgement are themes deeply woven throughout both testaments.

Punishment and judgement are part of God's response to human rebellion, revealing his deep love for us and the world. We were created to flourish; but to do that we need to live within the guard rails God designed. We are less than human when we do not live in obedience to God. Our communities do not work, our relationships are warped. Judgment's purpose is for us to altar our course, so we can flourish.

If we do not change our minds about how we should live, if we continue to go our own way, we are condemned to live in a less than human world. Judgment is part of the process of sanctification. If we do not understand what it is we have done wrong, we will not change. Judgement is not separate from God's love.

Lot is here highlighted as a model for the righteous to follow. He was a man tormented, distressed by the evil he witnessed. These words suggest two things: on the one hand he was grieved by the destruction evil deeds caused. Think today of the results of chemical addictions, abusive relationships, murder, etc. On the other hand, these words suggest a constant temptation to give in and join the evil ones. Its difficult to stand when everyday people attempt to lure you in (see Psalm 73 for a reflection on this theme).

Peter's point is this: God will protect and save his people. Therefore, stand firm. Take time to reflect on your reaction to evil. Is the Spirit calling you to a godlier response?

As you witness the evil around you and face the temptations to join in: Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

As we turn to chapter 2, we find Peter switching from defence to offence. Previously he was defending the Apostolic witness to Jesus and the inspired prophecies of scripture as reliable. Now he is speaking of false teachers who are unreliable, and seeking to show why they ought not be trusted.

In the days in which the Old Testament was written—there were not just Spirit-inspired prophets around, but also false prophets. Jeremiah often had skirmishes with the false prophets of his day who prophesied peace and restoration as he prophesied exile (e.g. Jeremiah 28). Elsewhere, false prophets prophesied victory where the Lord's prophets spoke of defeat (e.g. 1 Kings 22:1-40).

Interestingly though, Peter does not dignify the people he is speaking about with the term "prophet." Instead he calls them "false teachers." Perhaps they were not claiming to speak in the name of the Lord or hold inspiration from God. Perhaps they were merely deviating in what they believed and taught about the Lord. This may not have seemed so bad, but Peter would like to show how destructive this really is.

It seems that these false teachers denied any need to live a moral life that was distinct from the pagan world around. But if there was no difference between the Christians and the pagan world around them—what positive witness to Christ could they bring? They may as well deny their master even as they "bring the way of truth into disrepute."

In this regard, the letter of Peter still brings a pretty stiff challenge into our lives today. The first chapter speaks of virtues we must add to our faith. Chapter two flips the coin over. For those whose lives don't change at all in light of the faith and love given by God in Christ—and especially for any who teach that that's OK—"swift destruction" is in store, says Peter.

Much of the hottest internal church fights we have as Christians are drawn up on this battle line. Where must we become a "contrast community," rejecting cultural norms for the sake of Christian virtue and where does the grace and transformation of Christ redeem cultural forms and norms such that they can be used?

There are no easy answers. But in the very least, we must know that the problem cannot be solved to one absolute extreme or the other. We cannot live in such radical contrast that we become cut off from our culture entirely, for then we cannot witness within that culture to Christ (e.g. John 17:15), nor can we totally and unquestioningly embrace everything that our culture provides—an extreme that Peter defends against—because then we no longer witness to anything distinctive about Christ.

Tending to this balance takes wisdom cultivated within the community of Christ through much Bible reading and prayer. In fact, already in that action of prayer and scripture we begin to faithfully hold the tension as we do something Christianly distinct from the world around us.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in the grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:16-21).

Today's text elaborates and adds onto yesterday's theme of 'remembering', shaping our understanding of Holy Scripture. Peter is remembering what he saw and heard. His teaching is rooted in history, history that he lived. His writings are not hearsay or 'cleverly devised stories.' All the apostles are giving testimony to what they witnessed, 'the majesty of Jesus Christ'. Each of the New Testament books is attributed to one of these apostles. Paul was the last apostle, "as one abnormally born" (1 Corinthians 15:8). Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Our trust in the New Testament lies in this fact, the authors had personal interaction with Jesus.

Peter then takes us further back in time. We should heed the word of the prophets, who spoke about this Jesus. Of course, not remembering, but by looking ahead. We should listen to their prophecies and believe them because they were directed to write by the Holy Spirit, who also empowered Jesus himself. Then Peter teaches us something important: as God inspired and motivated the prophets, we need him to reveal truth to us.

He uses the analogy of a light which shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises. God's Word comes to shine in our hearts when we are in darkness. We do not understand it until it breaks through into our hearts like the dawning of the day when the morning star arises. The Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets, empowered Jesus, guided the apostles, now breaks through the darkness of our hearts with the light of Scripture.

What a marvelous experience to have the light of God's Word shine in our hearts as the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us! Paul writes about this too, "For God…made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). We enjoy the marvelous experience of allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us through God's Word. The Bible becomes alive to us when that happens.

If we are bored with Bible study, or if we are unable to understand what God is saying through a passage, practice what Peter is encouraging us to do. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us. Allow the light to shine into the darkness and expect the truth to emerge as the day dawns and the morning star arises. And hang out with God's people, for the Bible belongs to the church and is for the church. Where two or three are gathered in Christ's name, he is with them (Matthew 18:20).

As you journey on:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Daniel 1.

But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Peter 1:9-15)

Pastor Michael noted the dissonance between our assumptions and reality. We assume the Christian life is built on what we do. But in fact, it is built instead on the "everything" from God we have received.

Verses like the one from today's text about "making your calling and election sure," says exactly what we often think. We've got to put in the effort or else we won't get into the eternal kingdom of our Lord! But that's not quite what Peter says, nor how our Reformed tradition has understood it.

In Q&A 86 of the Heidelberg Catechism, the question is asked why we still have to do good works if Jesus has already done everything necessary for salvation for us. One of the four answers to that question refers to this passage and says "so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits," which is part of Christ "restoring us by his Spirit into his image." In other words, as the Canons later make clear: we can indeed lose our assurance of salvation when there's no good fruit in our lives to show for it, but we cannot lose the thing itself. God's sovereign choosing in his calling and his election are sure.

That said—the Catechism and the Canons say right along with Peter that we must still do good works. Or said better—that we get to do good works because of all the good Jesus has done for us. This is the whole thrust of the Gospel, that the power of God is at work transforming us to become like Jesus in all the virtues we've discussed. God has acted, and we get to respond! God has given, and we get to receive! But precisely because none of it is "required" in order to finish up our salvation—we have to be continually reminded of what we've received, lest we take the inheritance for granted and forget to act on it.

Remember, remember, remember. Peter drums away at the theme. Do not be one who becomes blind, "forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins" (v.9). "So I will always remind you of these things even though you know them…" "I think it right to refresh your memory…." "And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things" (vv. 12, 13, 15).

I am often struck by how much of our journey of following Jesus and becoming like him boils down to remembering. Rarely in the Old Testament are people defiantly idolatrous or disobedient. More often, they've just forgotten their God and wandered off someplace else. Forgetfulness is the biggest problem. Like in Judges when generations keep rising up who "knew not" the things of old. Likewise remembering is the biggest gift—like when the book of the law was found under the reign of Josiah, or when the law was read again after the exiles returned under Ezra.

Peter knows his scriptures. So he not only preaches his message in the opening verses of this letter—but he tells it again, and promises to keep on doing it. A broken record that repeats the things we already know over and over is no sin, because knowing something in the deep ways of habit and muscle memory takes exactly this: time, attention, and repetition. So today, if you've already forgotten the list of virtues to add to your faith—go back and read it again. Start right at verse 1 and recall again what you already know: the "everything" that God has given us to make his calling in our lives sure.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in the grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins (2 Peter 1:8-9).

My forefathers came from Europe, in part, to escape the devastation of WW2 and build a better life for themselves and their children. Both sets of my grandparents came with eight children in tow. They did not come alone; many were immigrating from the Netherlands because Canada promised a future.

Some came with capital; others came with nothing but the shirts of their backs. They all set to work investing in this new country. They farmed and built businesses, often from scratch. Working for others, many moved up the corporate ladders, being creative, intelligent, industrious, and reliable. Many of these immigrants became successful at accumulating material goods.

Living here in the city of Hamilton, I see new immigrants coming. This country is still perceived to have opportunity for newcomers to build a future. And I truly hope it is--a haven full of opportunities for many people. But whether one came in the 1950s or are just arriving, there are no guarantees of success.

Building for financial success is not wrong. Many well-known biblical folks were wealthy: Abraham, David, Solomon, Job. They were not judged for their wealth. So, the questions I ask today, are not judgements: What are you building? What blueprints are you following? What materials are you using?

The Dutch immigrants of the 1950s generally improved their economic wellbeing. They also built church buildings and Christian schools. They developed political organizations and a labour union. All good work. But I wonder if Peter might have scratched his head a little questioning the emphases and motivations.

When we think of Christianity, we generally think of church buildings, well structured worship services, and committee meetings, hopefully short. Basically, things we have built, organized. When Peter thought of Christianity, he thought of participating in the divine nature, of adding to our faith, goodness, knowledge all the way down the list to love.

For many of us, Christianity is about what we do, what we do for God. For Peter, it was about what was received. God has given us everything we need for a godly life. We have been cleansed from our past sins and given an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:4). Peter reminds us that we have been given all the tools with instruction manuals; the Christian life is learning how to use them well.

Peter asks what blueprints we are using and what kinds of material. What are we building with our lives? Are we laying up treasures in heaven through faith, goodness, knowledge…agape? We cannot lose our inheritance, but why play in a sandbox when we have been given the entire beach. I wonder if our fractured churches and families are the result of poor priorities. What good is the accumulation of worldly wealth if it crowds out the much greater wealth of treasures in God's kingdom? Peter asks us probing questions. Let us take the time to ponder them well, lest we be near-sighted and blind.

So, as you journey on:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18).

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Here we come to the end of the list of virtues that Peter puts out to us. Yesterday's word was "Philadelphia," the word for "brotherly/sisterly love" or "mutual affection" in our translation. Today's word steps that up a notch by using the word for the highest form of love—that particularly Christian form of "unconditional love" that we call "agape" (ah-gah-pay).

This is the word that describes the whole of the good-news Gospel of Christianity in a nutshell. God so loved (agape) the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Agape love is God's love. It is unconditional love—a love that sets no pre-requisite conditions. But is more than that. As Mark Buchanan suggests in his book on Peter, it's more like "unprovoked love." We are loved this way by God (and sometimes our parents too) out of the blue at times, and for no good reason based in our activity at all.

Agape then is not just a love that sets no prior conditions—it is a love that actively commits to pursuing those who never could have deserved it and who might even actively resist it. Even when our actions anger God—his commitment to love us in Jesus Christ stands firm. Even when our actions disappoint, disregard, or demean God—God's commitment to love us in Jesus Christ stands firm. It is Agape love—a commitment to love that overcomes and continues to love despite absolutely everything that comes against it.

It is only because of this Agape love of God for us that any of us can come even close to displaying this kind of counter-cultural love-commitment toward anyone else. But it is this form of love, more so than any other virtue, that displays what it means to "be like Jesus."

This is why Paul says the greatest of the virtues is love in 1 Corinthians 13, and why this virtue gains such a central place in that letter as the linchpin of all Christian community and action. It is, says Paul, one of only three things that remain into eternity of all our earthly works and virtues, and of those three, it is the greatest.

Of course—there's a good reason that this virtue comes at the end of the list. It is the hardest of them all to live out. Yet it is also the clearest and most oft-repeated command given to us—by Jesus in the Gospels, and by most every New Testament author throughout the letters. "They will know we are Christians by our love."

There are two sides to the coin of learning to live this kind of Agape love, I think. First—each day we must remember and believe that this is the way that God loves us—we must be grounded in the Agape love of God. Then, second, we must seek to "go and do likewise." Step by step, interaction by interaction, conversation by conversation we must practice this Agape love day by day in the power of the Pentecost Spirit.

Can we take one step further toward loving someone else in an unconditional, unprovoked way today—especially those that frustrate or disgust us? This is the call if we are to love as God has first loved us, remembering always that when we fail, God's own Agape love continues to hold us fast: forgiving us, setting us back on our feet, and sending us out to try it again.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in the grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18 MSG).

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Since the fall into sin, we have been faced with the question, "Where is your brother?" Intuitively, we know the answer. And yet with Cain, we often reply, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). This dark thread of sibling conflict weaves its way through the Old Testament.

Consider the decades long feud between Esau and Jacob that had Jacob running for his life. Joseph's brothers were so jealous of the special treatment he received from dad, they planned to kill him. In the end, they didn't, but they did sell him as a slave. When they reconnected with him in the throne room of Egypt, they were petrified he would seek revenge.

There were also David's brothers who thought he acted all high and mighty. There was deadly conflict among David's children. God might have asked all these folks, "Where is your brother?" They would all have answered, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

Into the New Testament, the rivalries continue. Now its Jesus' disciples squabbling over which of them was the greatest. I wonder if some of Jesus' comments aren't in response to this long history of family feuding. His famous foot washing scene is introduced with 'Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1). It ends with Jesus' command, "Now that I have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet" (13:14).

It seems clear enough that when Jesus' followers are asked, "Where is your sister? Where is your brother?" we should be answering, "Right here with me, because I have been taking care of them."

Our virtue for today is 'mutual affection'. You may know it by another rendering, "philadelphia", literally, 'brotherly love.' In the ancient world, it was used to describe blood brothers, sons of the same father. Maybe the phrase, 'blood is thicker than water', harkens back to this word. Family sticks together, always.

Philadelphia is now used to describe the relationship between fellow believers. We all have one heavenly father, drawn into His family through the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood is powerful, breaking down the dividing walls of hostility to create one new family in his body. As Jesus washed our feet, we are to wash each other's feet. There is just no way around this, we are the keepers of our siblings. John puts it bluntly, "Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar" (1 John 4:20).

We have already said several times that these virtues are bracketed by faith and love. They are rooted in faith and demonstrated in love. Tomorrow we will say more about this love. For today, recall Paul's summary, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6). Not just the nice siblings, those easy to love. Philadelphia requires us to get up close and personal where we can see the warts and wrinkles and smell the foul odours and love them still.

What will that look like for you today?

So, as you journey on:

Grace and peace to you many times over as you deepen in your experience with God and Jesus, our Master. Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Amen! (2 Peter 1:2; 3:18).