Hold still!”
Mary eyed her older sister warily, the forefinger of her left hand securely in the palm of her right. “It hurts.”
“Of course it hurts. You have a sliver in it.”
“I hate washing dishes.”
“I know. Do you want me to get it out or not?”
Mary slowly extended her wounded finger for Martha’s re-examination. Her sister poked at the shard of pottery, wiggling the edge gently. “Does that hurt?”
“Yes. A little.”
Martha held the wound up to the light for closer inspection.
“Martha, do you miss him?”
Martha did not look up from her task. “Yes,” she said bluntly. “He would have this splinter out in no time.”
“If he were here, I wouldn’t be washing dishes.”
Martha laughed, remembering the last time they were together. “No, you wouldn’t.” She grasped the fragment with the tips of her fingernails and pulled.”
“Ouch!”
“Baby.…Do you miss him?”
“Yes…and no. Sometimes I feel him here. Every time I see our brother coming in from the field, he’s there with him — I can almost see him,” Mary confided. “Do you understand?”
“Yes. Sometimes I feel him here, too.”
Martha pinched the splinter once more and pulled quickly. “Got it.”
“Martha, when do you see him or feel him here?”
Martha looked over her sister’s shoulder and smiled. “Sometimes.”
Text 1 John 4:7–12
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
For Thought
- Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were very close to our Lord (look at John 11:1–12:11); yet their closeness was not always a common bond between them (Luke 10:38–42). Why is it often so hard to “love one another” when we live under the same roof?
- Let’s look at some sibling relationships:
- Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). One pursued the harvest, the other the flock. One pursued his own gain, one the favor of God. One killed the other. Why?
- Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:19–34; Genesis 27; Genesis 33; Romans 9:11–13). Twins — maybe not so different as we would first suspect. What insight into these patriarchal brothers do we gain from the Romans passage?
- Absalom and Amnon (II Samuel 13). David’s family was an extended, dysfunctional mess, stemming from David’s disobedience to God. What can we do to avoid a similar fate for our families?
Water to Wine
- Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. So instructs James in his letter, James 1:22–25. Read this passage and describe how it relates to “loving one another.”
- This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This week, let’s focus on understanding that our love for God and his Son is only a reflection of the love he has shown us.
- …but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. Likewise, as we express our love to one another, don’t dwell on the good deed as an accomplishment; instead, consider any expression of love as an extension of God’s love to his creation.
