¹ Let love of the brethren continue.

Moving from God’s judgment to the topic of love, theology and warnings give way to practical Christian living. Chapters 1-10 of Hebrews laid out the superiority of Christ over all else, chapter 11 focused our attention on the examples of those who believed and chapter 12 forms a sort of transition into the applications of chapter 13. Truth without change is academic and esoteric, but not of much use for life. And our verse for today goes for the core of our behavior, namely, love.

Love is exactly what the apostle Paul says is the purpose of biblical teaching: “The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5). James put it this way, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:17). Our verse today is necessary for the doctrine of Christ’s superiority to be complete. Because He is the complete, final, and sufficient sacrifice for our sin-problem, then we are free to live the way God intended, as other-centered beings. We already have the kingdom as a sure and unshakeable promise and therefore a new motivation, that of gratitude (Hebrews 12:28). This gratitude for God’s love for us, then naturally leads to loving others.

The fact that this verse is in the imperative, means that our loving others does not happen automatically. Gratitude can wane through time and familiarity. So we study and meditate and worship the Lord Jesus Christ for what He has done for us. Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of me.” Worship in the breaking of bread keeps us focused on the central truth of Christ’s sacrifice, so that our gratitude for His love remains fresh. This, in turn, fuels our love for others.

The love mentioned in our verse is the Greek word, “philadelphia,” the literal translation of which is “brotherly love” or “love of brother.” We are to let this continue. The original readers of Hebrews were already doing that, and they should continue to do it—so should we. Not the familiar “agape” love which focuses on total self-sacrifice, here we are challenged to live out our daily life in active kindness and favor toward others. This is not charity, as in giving money to the needy, but coming along side of others as a way of life, behaving in a way that truly helps them. This is the kind of love Peter proclaimed to the Lord after His resurrection (John 21:15-17), and this is the kind of love we should live out continuously as a reflection of our gratitude for all Christ has done for us.

Lord, I commit today to actively show brotherly love to someone I meet.