Reading for Monday, Aug 6: Hebrews 13

“Let brotherly love continue,” (v1). I love this verse. I came across it early on in my ministry and it’s been one of those verses that’s been a constant companion for me throughout the years. Let’s face it: church is made up of broken people — many of them saved by the grace of Jesus, but broken all the same. And in that brokenness, we do things we shouldn’t. We gossip. We lie. We get jealous. We get all passive aggressive toward each other. Or sometimes, we just get outright aggressive! No matter. We act in ways that are unbecoming of followers of Jesus.

And so we need these constant reminders, don’t we? We need to be reminded that God is good and that His love endures forever. And the church stands as a living and breathing testimony to that goodness and that eternal love. One of the ways we testify to God’s enduring love is by practicing our own version of it — by letting brotherly love continue to grow in our midst. May we never forget the loving impulse of our Father in heaven, the decision to create in the first place, His willful act of creating space for us to exist — all born out of His great love for us before He even created us. And may that recognition of God’s loving impulse come near to us in our daily interactions: as we deal with fussy neighbors and family members who irritate us and lazy employees and dishonest employers and unruly children and emotionally needy friends….through it all may we be formed by these simple words that declare an eternal truth. God’s love reigns eternal. May it be so in our hearts and in our lives. Amen.