Article August 29, 1994 Issue

Deepening our understanding of brotherhood

Fay Kallos Fahs

Recently I've found myself thinking about family and brotherhood in a somewhat different way. I wanted to feel that I was making progress in my efforts to follow one of the basic tenets of Christianity—Christ Jesus' counsel to love our neighbor as ourselves (see Matt. 22:39). The Master expected us to put this command into practice. Further, he taught us to love our enemies and to forgive those who have wronged us "until seventy times seven" (see Matt. 18:22).

Yet when we consider the world scene, the wars and murders and rapes and genocide and terrorist acts, loving our enemies can seem very difficult. Even loving our neighbor in daily life is sometimes hard. How can we learn to love our neighbor better?

I got to thinking about this question from the standpoint of loving my family. I have been fully aware for a long time that I love my family members dearly no matter what. Relatives can at times be unkind, uncaring, selfish, disobedient. But my love for them is absolutely unshakable. I may not like their actions at one time or another; I may condemn what I see as "the error of their ways." Yet this does not lessen my love. My love is simply a fact, an acknowledged and unchanging part of my life.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Deepening our understanding of brotherhood

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access