Tuesday Brief
General Superintendent Max Edwards & Judy
November 3, 2026 “The Christian Life Means Adoption Into a Loving Family” “You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart … Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.” 1 Peter 1:22, 3:8 nlt Okay, Peter. There you go with those same words ... sin, and obey. You’re serious, aren’t you? “Yes. Yes, I am,” he would reply. But note that we are not asked to obey some weird, off the wall, half-baked set of instructions. We are asked to obey “the truth.” These conduct codes God is asking us to observe are not capricious rules built by a reclusive deity that just wants things to run his way even though they are hard to keep and hard to justify because they don’t benefit us or anyone else. NO! God’s ways make sense. They work. They create a foundation upon which positive human fellowship can thrive. The first four of the ten commandments are about our relationship to God, but the last six are about our relationship to other people. God is super concerned about how we interact with each other in ways that build, bless, and prosper. Over and again in his letter, Peter calls us to love our brothers and sisters. We are in this together, and by preferring one another, instead of preferring ourselves, we make way for a very fulfilling family unit. The specific instructions are gloriously beneficial to the whole – to the entire family: “Show sincere love” “Love each other deeply” “Be of one mind” “Sympathize with each other” “Be tenderhearted” “Keep a humble attitude” Wow! Such genius in so few words. If we would live this way - in a sincere, deep love that is unified, sympathetic, tender, and humble, what a wholesome existence! What an environment for miraculous growth. What an attractive collective that would draw people in instead of pushing people away. I imagine that evangelism would be much easier if the Christian Church would truly, truly be marked by these attributes. Everyone likes to belong … to be loved. Everyone is deeply hungry for this kind of family. Let’s be that family.