HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

Lesson Six

BROTHERS AND SISTERS (3):

LOVING OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Burden to Impart:

We naturally love those who are born from our same parents. God created within our human nature a "natural affection" for our family members (Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3). To love our brothers and sisters is also related to the second greatest commandment in the Bible given to man (Mark 12:28-31). This shows us that loving our brothers and sisters is very zmportant to God and must be very important to us also. We find that when we love our brothers and sisters we "abide bz the light" (1 John 2:10) and feel happy amt satisfied. When we have anger or hatred toward our brothers and sisters we experience darkness (1 John 2:11), gloominess, and sorrow.

Memory Verse: "He who loves his brother abides in the light...But he who hates his brother is in the darkness..." (1 John 2:10a, lla).

Facts to Teach:

  1. Our nature by creation:
    By creation we are born inherently with a natural affection for our parents and brothers and sisters (Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3). We naturally love our siblings and care about what happens to them. If they suffer or are hurt, we share in their pain and may even cry also. If something or someone tries to harm them we naturally do our best to try and protect them, even if we ourselves may get hurt in trying to do so.
  2. The second greatest commandment in the Bible:
    1. The first and greatest commandment in the Bible is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself (Mark 12:28-31). Our closest "neighbor" is our brother or sister.
    2. The Bible teaches us that we must love our brothers and sisters (1 John 4:20-21). If we say we love God (whom we have not seen) yet hate our brother (who we see all the time) we are a liar.
  3. Our Experience:
    When we love our brothers we experience what the Bible calls "abiding in the light" (1 John 2:10). That is, we feel an inward joy, satisfaction, and brightness; we feel that God is so happy and we also are happy. However, when we become angry with our brothers or even begin to hate them we experience being in darkness (1 John 2:11) and feel heavy, bitter, angry, and depressed. We can get out of darkness by confessing anything wrong in our heart (1 John 1:9) and loving our brothers again.