“Everyone who loves the father also loves the child fathered by him.”

I ran across this phrase this morning in one of my commentaries as I am tightening up Sunday’s sermon. The phrase is inspired from 1 John 5:2 – “everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him.”

This phrase makes me think about how much affection I have for my friend’s children. I experience joy on Wednesday nights when children come to Awana, and teenagers show up for Frontline Student Ministries. I don’t know some of these little ones and teenagers well personally, but I have love for them because I see their parent’s traits in them. They share their parents name.

So, it is with our Christian bothers and sisters around the globe. Let’s intentionally love other Christians bothers and sister. Despite the cultural chasms, different worship styles, different interpretations of Scriptures, and the destructive competitive forces that wrongly tear us apart – we have a billion or more spiritual siblings on this planet. May God open our spiritual eyes to see that more often than we realize, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them (2 Kings 6:16).”