Looking Out For One Another

[Pikson @iri]

Looking Out For One Another
Prepared By Picky Airi
[Extracted from “In Touch” March 2003 by Dr. Charles Stanley]

How do you treat the people in your life? Do you seek their good and make sacrifices for their betterment? Or, do you simply tolerate them, use and abuse them when profitable or needed and then discard them when you’re finished? Too many people hold to the saying, “Look out for number one”. In today’s “me first” generation, how do we go about
restoring respect to our interactions with others? Our best, close friends in schools, back at home or in the fellowship group. Jesus declared that next to loving God, the second most important thing is to love our neighbor.
(Mathew 22:39) But in this day and age, what does “loving our neighbor” look like? We find the answer in several New Testament passages, collectively known as the “One Anothers.”

1. LOVE ONE ANOTHER: John 13:34-35.
Jesus repeatedly stressed treating others – even embittered enemies – with the utmost love and respect. Nowhere
does the bible instruct us, “Love your neighbor if…” Instead Jesus simply declared, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” This type of loving gives a glimpse of who Jesus
really is: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35)

2. RESTORE ONE ANOTHER & CARRY EACH OTHER’S BURDENS: Galatians 6: 1-2.
Many of us think we have the first part of this passage down pat: “If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritually should restore him gently” (vs1). Doesn’t this mean we have the right to shine light into the dark parts of
someone else’s life? The answer is no. “Restoring gently” is not permission to broadcast people’s mistakes, but instead is a directive to help our brothers and sisters find their way back to God if/when they stray. Our responsibility is to assist with healing and restoration.

3. BEAR WITH AND FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER: Colossians 3:13.
The message is clear: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.” The phrase “bear with” implies that no one is perfect. We need to be gracious when people in our lives fail. After all, our own next blunder may be seconds away. This verse also contains another radical admonition: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:13b). Here, Scripture shows that believers have no excuse whatsoever for an unforgiving spirit. Remember that it was at the tremendous cost of Jesus’ life that God forgave your every sin. That is our standard of comparison: not just the reasonable level of forgiveness that the world may offer, but the very grace of God.

4. BUILD UP ONE ANOTHER: 1 Thessalonians 5:11.
Most of us never realize the sheer power of encouragement – that is, until we are starving for it ourselves. Like a machine, our bodies and spirits can begin to run low on energy. An encouraging word may be exactly what is needed to recharge our used up batteries and keep us on track. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up”
(1 Thessalonians 5:11)

5. ENCOURAGE AND PROTECT ONE ANOTHER FROM SIN: Hebrews 3:12-14.
This passage reveals one of the most important benefits of close relationships: “But encourage one another daily…so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (verse 13). Human hearts tend to wander from God. Left to ourselves, we would likely never notice the subtle ways in which sin leads us astray. Trusted Christian friends can help one another avoid this disaster by having the right and the ability to make sure we don’t fall into “sin’s
deceitfulness.”

6. SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON TO LOVE AND GOOD WORKS: Hebrews 10: 24-25.
We have all heard that “no man is an island.” The spiritual side to this expression is that God never intended for man to operate independently. In fact, the first thing that God deemed “not good” was Adam’s aloneness. (Genesis 2:18) What we cannot achieve alone may be a simple accomplishment for a group. Also working together keeps us in a mindset of love and cooperation, effectively preventing us from becoming a vast collection of
“islands” floating through life independently.

7. CONFESS SIN TO AND PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER: James 5:16.
Because Jesus is our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), we have no need for an earthly “middle man” between God and ourselves. However, an accountability relationship (James 5:16) has tremendous value for believers. First, it establishes an intimate bond. Praying for someone else fosters deep, loving friendships.
Second, confessing sin to the injured party is essential to proper healing and restoration. Third, open prayer promotes accountability between trusted believers. Simply put, the sin you do in darkness may not be as attractive if you know someone will ask you about it later. While there is no secret formula for living the
successful Christian life, striving toward these seven scriptural principles can radically change the way we go about our personal and business lives. We must stop seeing other people as tools to be used for our gain and then discarded. Instead, we need to begin seeing them for what they are – individuals whom Christ
loved so much that He gave His life for them, just as He did for us. Then we can start to recognize our own identity as one of the many “one anothers”.