Blood is thicker than water, yeah? It means relationships within the family are more important than all the other relationships that we have outside of it. The 6th trait we need to add is this
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection …” (2 Peter 1 v 5-7)
The word Peter uses is philadelphia and it was used for the love amongst the family, hence, brotherly love in some translations and ‘mutual affection’ in NIV. Peter is saying make every effort to add to your life devotion, tender family love towards others in the Church. That is what we find in every Church, right?
We live today in a society where the family is threatened from all sides. The home is threatened. But the Church is here to restore the family. To not only repair it and stand for it but to become a family for the fatherless and the widow. The sincerity of the Church’s love is seen in its creation of family. “We are family here.” “Come and join the family of God.”
We can all think of examples where we are devoted to that Church member with mutual affection. We can also think of those people who we struggle with. They are the people who hurt you, spoken against you and who do not even like you never mind reciprocate any love you might have for them. How do we show brotherly love to these people? We make every effort and we add. It takes energy and it will cost us.
But this is the battle the Church has to win. We must reveal philadelphia to a world who was robbed of that experience. “It doesn’t matter who you are; or how damaged you are; it doesn’t matter how hurtful or proud you have become; we leave all that to the head of the family, to the Father; our role is to philadephia you; that’s what you get here; welcome.”
Missions Paul 