OK Mike if you insist.

What do you think of when you hear the phrase one another?  I recently began thinking about this topic after trying to follow the 150 or more posts on Mike’s blog Trapped in the wrong church!  I am not sure why I was prompted to think along this line, but here I am. 

So I searched on the term at Bible Gateway and found 72 passages that used the exact term one another.  Out of the 72 passages, 36 of them used the term 49 times to exhort the people of God to care for each other.  Now I know this is not exhaustive, but covers most of the appearances of the phase one another, mostly in the New Testament.

The word love appears 23 times either directly before the one another or immediately after it.  Other terms connected with one another are in no particular order with Webster definitions following:

Be devoted to - Zealous in devotion or affection

Honor  - Show respect towards

Live in harmony with - Compatibility in opinion and action

Offer hospitality to - Kindness in welcoming guests or strangers

Being completely humble and gentle, bearing with - Marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful, and Soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe, withstanding a weight or strain.

Encourage - Contribute to the progress or growth of; Inspire with confidence; give hope or courage to; Spur on

Be kind and compassionate - Having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature and Showing merciful compassion.

Accept - Admit into a group or community

Spur on to love and good deeds - A verbalization that encourages you to attempt something

Show mercy and compassion to - Leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice and understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it

Speak to in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs - Exchange thoughts; talk with

Instruct - Impart skills or knowledge to

Serve - Devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas

Have fellowship with - An association of people who share common beliefs or activities or the state of being with someone

Clothe yourself in humility toward - A disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride

Teach and admonish -Impart skills or knowledge to and counsel in terms of someone's behavior; Warn strongly; put on guard; Take to task

Stop passing judgment on - The act of judging or assessing a person or situation or event

Submit to - Yield to the control of another

Love - A strong positive emotion of regard and affection; warm affection or devotion

These exhortations are directed to God’s people as they relate to God’s people.  We as believers are to be devoted to, honor, live in harmony with, offer hospitality to, humbly and gently bearing with, encouraging, kind and compassionate towards, accepting of, spurring on to love and good deeds, showing mercy and compassion to, speaking to in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, instructing, serving, fellowshipping with, giving presents, acting in humility towards, Teaching and admonition, withholding judgment, and submitting to one another in Love.

In John 13:34 Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  

Love encompasses all of the other admonitions listed above.  If we love our brothers, we will be gladly serving, bearing with, honoring, teaching, having fellowship with… you get the idea. 

Finally we read in 2 John 1:5-6 “And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have ad from the beginning.  I ask that we love one another.  And this is Love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.  As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in LOVE.” (emphasis added)

So I would encourage each of us to let your love so shine that even those who do not know Christ would know you are His.  We should shine that love both in our local Church where ever we meet, as well as here in cyberspace.

Peace