Brother, Where art thou?

I have 5 brothers. Actually they are “half-brothers”, one having the same mother as me and the other 4 having the same father. I almost never, ever communicate with them. I was not raised with them. I am their “big” sister although they all tower over me. I am thinking of them this week.

“He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” I John 2:10

I know that refers to ones’ Christian brothers, not the flesh and blood kind.

But it is one of many “brother verses” in my Guideposts daily planner this week. And brothers are on my mind.
I have two sons. Brothers to each other.
And they haven’t talked to each other, except for a casual “hi there” for over three years. And the youngest one hasn’t talked to me in nearly 5 months. There is resentment there I think. It makes me very sad. I think brothers should get along. I don’t think it’s good to just ignore each other.

But it’s easy to do.
I don’t mean to ignore my brothers. But 4 of them live in Florida and the other lives in New York. We don’t have that much in common.
Not even a lot of shared memories.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Execute true Justice, show mercy, and compassion everyone to his brother.” Zechariah 7:9

I wonder, do I really even love my brothers? I pray for them often.

Back to the old, brother and sister in the Lord bit.

Over the past few months my “church family” has shrunk. There is no one to blame, but it’s been kind of lonely. Proverbs says “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle. (18:19) Yeah, there are some offences that need to be dealt with I think, but I’m not sure about the when’s and how’s. Like I said, I don’t think it’s good to just ignore the situation, but it is easy to do.

"We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the LORD, and I pray that all unity will one day be restored."
I just recently commented somewhere about the need to agree to disagree. I don’t really like that cliché, Only a toe is very much different than an eyeball, but both can be part of the same body. Different is not always bad. Different is not always wrong. Anyway, I’m supposed to be doing my paperwork so I gotta bring this to a close. I had a lot to say about Hebrews 2, but I was too busy thinking about and praying for my brothers (and sisters) and lost focus. It is Monday. There is snow in the mountains. The sun is setting.

One last verse: “If someone says, “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen…” 1 John 4:20 – Jeremiah, call your brother!