2 Peter 1:7 “…and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”
Vocabulary.com defines brotherly affection as “a kindly and lenient attitude toward people.” In 2nd Peter brotherly affection is referring to a love between fellow believers. We have a common bond with other believers and that is our love for Christ, that is one reason we often refer to each other as brothers and sisters. But just like our biological brothers and sisters we don’t always find it easy to get along. That is why this theme is repeated frequently in the New Testament, Romans 12:10 says “Love one another with brotherly affection”; John 13:34 “…love one another just as I have loved you” and in 1 Peter 1:22 “…you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters…” And we are given examples in Acts 11:27-30, Galatians 6:2 and Philippians 2:3-4. We have to cultivate this love, pursue it in a conscientious manner, this is a word of action and is often a sign of spiritual maturity. Remembering we are all individuals with different personalities helps us to understand that we may instantly be drawn to some people more than others. Having a respect for our differences will also help us to become a blessing to all our brothers and sisters, not just those whom we are drawn to. But it is our love of Christ that binds us, and after all, love covers a multitude of sins. Which brings us to the eight and probably considered the most important trait of a Christian – and that is love. This love is “agape”, it is a selfless love considered to be the highest form of Christian love. It is a love that you extend towards others without expecting anything in return, it is a sacrificial love. And while brotherly love refers to a love extended towards other believers, agape love is extended towards everyone, believers and non-believers alike. If you think about what God did for us (John 3:16), this was an agape type of love, He was willing to sacrifice His Son for us. In Matthew 5:43-48 we are told to love our enemies because when it comes to love we are “to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect”. But even agape love is not automatic for us, we will find it is necessary to cultivate it, to feed into it, to encourage it to grow, and as we do, we grow not only closer to each other but to God. God has given us everything we need to develop these eight Christian characteristics, it is up to us to put them into action, to develop them fully. And when we do, then God will give us more and more grace and peace as we grow in our knowledge of the Father and Son (2 Peter 1:2). So, which of these eight traits do you need to work on? Some of us have more work to do than others. Being aware of our shortcomings brings us a step closer to working on the areas where we fall short, and as we work on these areas, we will develop a deeper relationship with those around us but more importantly with God. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.