Healthy Siblings
Some biblical examples of Siblings:
Cain and Abel (Genesis 4)
Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25)
Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29)
Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37)
Luke 10:38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
One. Confrontation avoided is a conflict in the
Confrontation is no more than a conversation about differences
Differences often turn to conflict because confrontation was avoided too long
Two.
Fred Craddock, in an address to ministers, caught the practical implications of serving. “To give my life for Christ appears glorious,” he said. “To pour myself out for others … to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom – I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory.
“We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table – ‘Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.’
“But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles. Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.
“Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul.”
Serving your siblings certainly comes 25 cents at a time
Three.
To be healthy requires forgiveness.
Forgiveness does not mean you will forget.
Forgiveness is never a free pass for the person to hurt you again.
Four. A healthy relationship with
John 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.