March 16

Love the brotherhood.—1 Peter 2:17.

THERE is a love, due to all, included under that word of honoring all, but a peculiar love to our Christian brethren, whom the Apostle Paul calls by a like word, the household of faith.

Christian brethren are united by a threefold cord; two of them are common to other men, but the third is the strongest, and theirs peculiarly. Their bodies are descended from the same man, and their souls of the same God; but their new life, by which they are most entirely brethren, is derived from the same God-man, Jesus Christ; yea, in him, they are all one body, receiving life from him their glorious head, who is called the first-born among many brethren. And as his unspeakable love was the source of this new being and fraternity, so doubtless it can not but produce indissoluble love among them that are partakers of it. The spirit of love and concord is that precious ointment that runs down from the head of our great High Priest to the skirts of his garments. The life of Christ and this law of love are combined, and can not be severed. Can there be enmity between those hearts that meet in him? Why do you pretend yourselves Christians, and yet remain not only strangers to this love, but most contrary to it, biters and devourers one of another, and will not be convinced of the great guiltiness and uncomeliness of strifes and envyings among you? Is this the badge that Christ hath left his brethren, to wrangle and malign one another? Do you not know, on the contrary, that they are to be known by mutual love? By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another. How often does that beloved disciple press this! He drank deep of that well-spring of love that was in the breast on which he leaned, and, if they relate aright, he died exhorting this, Love one another. Oh! that there was more of this love of Christ in our hearts, arising from the sense of his love to us! That would teach this mutual love more effectually, which the preaching of it may set before us, but, without that other teaching, can not work within us. Why do we still hear these things in vain? Do we believe what the love of Christ did to us, and suffered for us? And will we do nothing for him—not forgive a shadow, a fancy of injury, much less a real one, for his sake, and love him that wronged us, whoever he be, but especially being one of our brethren in this spiritual sense?

Many are the duties of this peculiar fraternal love; that mutual converse, and admonition, and reproof, and comforting, and other duties which are fallen into neglect, not only among formal, but even among real Christians. Let us entreat more of his Spirit who is love, and that will remedy this evil.

"Still let us own our common Lord, And bear thine easy yoke; A band of love, a threefold cord, Which never can be broke.

"Make us into one spirit drink; Baptize into thy name; And let us always kindly think, And sweetly speak the same.

Touch'd by the loadstone of thy love, Let all our hearts agree; And ever tow'rd each other move, And ever move tow'rd thee."