Brotherly Affection and Love

2 Peter 1 :7 ESV
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with… and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”

Peter admonishes the people that he has sent this letter to. They need these qualities (faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love) in their lives to survive the atrocities that lie ahead. In these days in which we live, more than ever we need these qualities to keep us above the pollution of this world and make us more like Jesus.

Brotherly affection is an extension of the natural affection associated with people who are near kin. Botherly affection goes beyond, “love thy neighbor as thyself.”  It shows itself as genuine love from a pure heart, that loves when not loved back. It gives without getting, and looks for what is best in others.

Love- Peter’s term for “love” here comes from the Greek root word agape. The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in which refers to a selfless, sacrificial concern for the good of others.

These two words, brotherly affection and love sound like the same thing. Brotherly affection is the broad sense of love for all of the believers and doing good for them. Love is the motivation in which we act, think, and move about with purpose.

Prayer:
Lord, I know that we are not to live for ourselves and our own wants and needs. We are here to touch people’s lives by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We are here to spread Your love, grace, and mercy.

I pray our actions are motivated by love and that we have a heart for all believers, but that we also reach out into the world motivated by Your love to bring people back to You. In Your name Lord Jesus, Amen!