Devotion to One Another (2-28-12)

Romans 12:10 - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor."

Devotion to God works itself out in our lives, and one of the ways it does this is in our devotion to Gods people, our brothers and sisters in Christ. In Mark chapter 12 when the Lord Jesus was asked which commandment (singular) was the greatest, He responded by giving what appears to be two answers. He answered in verses 29-31 - “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The Lord Jesus answered the question perfectly. If these were actually two different things then Jesus' answer would not have been perfect, but in answering the way He did He showed that these two commands are actually one. We see this again in 1 John 3:23 which says - "This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us." John speaks about Gods commandment (singular) and then mentions believing on Christ and loving one another. These two ideas are so closely related that in reality they are one. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot truly love other people unless you know God and His love is flowing through you. Love for God manifests itself in love for people. In Romans 12:10 where it says - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor." The words "be devoted to one another." are sometimes translated, more accurately, "Be kindly affectionate to one another." And as I've already said, true devotion to God shows itself through our relationships with one another.
In Paul's final comments to the Corinthians he says in 1 Corinthians 16:15 - "Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints)" He mentions this household and says that they devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Our devotion, our being kindly affectionate toward one another is taught in one aspect or another throughout much of the New Testament.
When the Lord Jesus came to the earth in a human body He had a single purpose, to do the will of His Father. He was completely devoted to His Father and that devotion to the Father showed itself in His love for people, including you and I. This is what the apostle Paul talks about in Philippians chapter 2. He is getting ready to talk about the humble example that Christ set for us, and he says in verse 3 - "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." This is what devotion to one another looks like. If we truly consider our brothers and sisters in Christ to be more important than ourselves then we will be looking out for their best interests in spite of cost to ourselves. Jesus said in John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." And John says something similar in 1 John 3:16 - "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." We can lay down our lives for one another every day by putting our own interests and our own desires to death, saying no to what I want and seeking what's best for others. If we're not willing to lay down our lives for one another in little ways right now, what makes us think that if we ever come to a point where someones life is at stake that we would be willing to lay down our lives for them then? We readily say that we would die in the place of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we're not even willing to put their best interests above our own right now. Devotion to one another means treating them as Christ did. It's a high calling, but that's how true devotion to God demonstrates itself. Ephesians 4:1-3 says - "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

1 Peter 1:22 - "Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart."

1 Peter 3:8-9 - "To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."