From Strangers to Siblings

I used to see a stranger and decide whether I wanted to know them based on their appearance.

Now, when I see a stranger I might want to meet, more than wanting to know their name, I want to know if they belong to Christ. I want to know if we have the same Father, and if we will be acquainted siblings instead of strangers.

According to the world, luxury brands will place individuals on different levels of class. But being in Christ makes us all one in relation and in status—heirs with Christ.

Colossians 2:6-10 says that as we’ve received Christ Jesus our Lord, we walk in him, rooted and built up in him. We do not live according to human tradition or the elemental spirits of the world, but according to Christ. It is in Christ that the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and we have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Above and beyond what any worldly possession could do for our identity, together we have become heirs of the Father. Jesus died for us to restore us to him, to make us holy. By putting our faith in Jesus, we become sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father, with the same Holy Spirit. No longer strangers, but brothers and sisters.

The Lord said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John‬ 14‬:23‬). With the Holy Spirit in our midst, we are equipped with everything good so we can do God’s will and that which is pleasing in his sight. (Hebrews 13:21).

Living in the Spirit made me no longer focused on the outward appearance but on the inner being. When I would greet a stranger in dirty clothes in passing, and they stopped to talk to me about Jesus, they were clean and nothing could make them otherwise. If I felt a bit uncomfortable before, I became comfortable at the mention of Jesus, because this was my kin, my brother whom I was happy to engage with. After all, no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Heavenly Father, let your Holy Spirit have total control over my life so that I’m able to keep your word and do what is pleasing in your sight. Thank you for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Help me have genuine, holy relationships with them according to your will in my life. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Throughout the Day: Remember that the Holy Spirit is in your midst and that you are equipped by him to do good works. Meditate on the reality of being a son or daughter of the Heavenly Father and remember your brothers and sisters in Christ. Meditate on (think of and remember) the extended family Christ has given you and aim to live out that heavenly reality through genuine relationships with those in Christ as guided by the Holy Spirit.