Namesake Week 2 Day 2: Brotherly Love

Namesake

Week 2

Day 2

Brotherly Love

Today's Scripture: Genesis 25:27-34, Philippians 2:3-4, and Romans 12:10

This chapter is titled Brotherly Love, but its really about loving one another no matter who the other person is family or not.

One of the hardest things about family (or people close enough to call family) is the rivalry that can grow between you. Jacob and Esau had rival right from the start, they fought for room in their mother's womb. They fought at birth for who would be born first and they fought over their birthright. Jacob was not satisfied with being the second son and when Esau came to Jacob while he was cooking, Esau was famished and asked for some of the meal. Jacob took advantage of this weakness and traded the food for Esau' birthright as the first son.

Birthright -
Material and spiritual blessing and inheritance combined with the authority given only to the firstborn son.

Both brothers experienced a sense of instant gratification / short-term pleasure when Jacob did the exchange with Esau, but they would also have long-term regret. Jacob really is the best example of forfeiting a relationship for material gain.

"Be devote to one another in love. 

Honor one another about yourselves"

Romans 12:10 

The first step to being able to love and respect others is to love and respect ourselves first. If we don't start with this step our relationships with others will always be tainted with neediness and self-interest. We can't expect a friendship to fulfill us, a friendship is made to compliment our lives. Once we feel self-worth and love in Christ, we will want others to feel it to, and we wont be able to contain it.

Here are some scriptures laying out the guidelines for how to treat one another.

Romans 15:7
1 Corinthians 1:10
Ephesians 4:2
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Galatians 6:2
Luke 6:31

Sometimes its hardest to put others first, and to love and respect those that we are closest to. I find it easier to overlook flaws of people that I don't see everyday, but I'm around my family all the time so it becomes harder to overlook their shortcomings. I need to print these scriptures out and put them on the fridge to remind us all how to love each other.

My prayer for tonight is to pray for my daughter, to accept her as she is (Romans 5:17), to be patient with her (Ephesians 4:2). I need to be more gentle and understanding of my daughter, instead of judgmental and irritated with her.

"So encourage each other and build each other up" 1 Thessalonians 5:11. This is my mission as a mother, to build my daughters up and make them the most confident and happy girls they can be.