The Welcome Mat

“Sometimes family members are the hardest to love. First, family can hurt us in the deepest part of our souls. Second, we aren’t always on our best behavior with family members. And, third, there’s the reality that we know one another better than we know anyone else. 

So what does this command mean, to love people in the church ‘as brothers and sisters’? Loving others with brotherly love is loving with an in-spite-of kind of love, which is the kind of love with which our holy God loves us sinners. Essentially, God’s call to brotherly love is a call to set out a welcome mat for our family, friends, fellow believers, neighbors, and coworkers and to accept them unconditionally and just as they are. We are to love them in spite of their hang-ups, in spite of how they’ve hurt us, in spite of their sin, and in spite of their judgement of us. We can and always should welcome people with loving, open arms. When we obey, we will enjoy the Lord’s peace… (Peace)