Servants > Friends > Brothers (John 15.15 and 20.17)

Jesus has given us the progression for becoming authentic brothers to our fellow pastors in Pierce County. The first step is to serve them. Once we have done that faithfully, our fellow pastors will think of us as Jesus thought of his disciples, "I no longer call you servants ... I have called you friends." Then, as we live out a true friendship, our fellow pastors will recognize us as real brothers.

Yes, we are already brothers judicially, for we have all been adopted into God's family through the blood of Christ. I don't wish to diminish the value and importance of that legal relationship; it provides the basis for the experiential one. However, it sometimes rings hollow when we call one another "brother" but have never served one another nor walked together as friends.

Many things are tested in times of trial: our faith, our endurance, our obedience. I'm finding that the thing that gets tested most in my life is my love. No wonder the Lord warned that in the last days "the love of many would grow cold." It is a supernatural manifestation of God's grace when we continue to care for one another in the face of pressures and attacks from within and without.

Our prayers at the 7:30 a.m. Wednesday prayer meeting for pastors at Trinity church (by Tacoma Mall) address issues in our own county, take up burdens for different parts of the world, and often zero in on needs represented in our own circle of brothers. A wonderful thing is the adjustment that takes place in our souls and spirits as we listen to one another pray. I think that by the end of the meeting each of our hearts is better aligned with the heart of the Father than it was at the start. I am so grateful for this fellowship!

Over the last month my thoughts have kept coming back to the persistent widow and the Lord's teaching from her story:

Luke 18.7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. (NIV)

The justice in view is against an adversary. I wonder if we have fully claimed our legal rights in prayer against our spiritual adversary.