By Rev. Daniel Yaw 

Introduction
As I look into this coming month, I was thinking of the aspect of living for one another.  This phrase one another is found all over the New Testament.  As a body of Christ, we are to live for one another.  The church, the body of Christ, the household of God, the living temple are but some allusion to what we are in Christ.  If there is one thing common, it is an organism that survives because we have one another.

A Common Bond
While writing this article, the morning devotional verse was from John 1:12 – “to all who believe in His name, who receive Him, He gave them the power to become children of God.”

This is where we all begin.  We are a family of God by the grace and love of God and the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for us.

All of us stand before God equal, as sinners but his grace made available to all of us as well.  We are saved by grace through faith.  Beginning on the same ground, we share this common bond – children of God saved by His grace alone.

If there is any disagreement, any hostility, any division, we come back to the same cause – you and I are His children by his grace.

That is why in the letters of Paul, he wrote that we have one faith, one hope, one baptism, one Spirit, one Lord who is all and in all.  There should be nothing that should break this common bond.  The next time, we look at each other, let us recognize this same bond that we share.

A Common Cause
Beginning with that union, we also share a common cause – to build one another in Christ.  In the words of Jesus, our Lord, He said that we are to love one another as He had loved us.  That is the new commandment that the Lord gave to us.  By loving one another, we will show to others that we are indeed disciples of Jesus Christ

Another element of one another is a new approach when Jesus after the last supper, took a towel and a basin of water and began washing the disciples’ feet.  Then he concluded the event by saying, “Just as I have served you, serve one another.”  When Peter objected to the idea that Jesus should wash his feet, Jesus responded by saying that Peter will have no part in Him if he refused.  Service towards one another cause us to be part of each other as well.  That is what a family looks like.  Will we get hurt?  Will we be disappointed?  Of course, we will, but that should not stop us from doing so.  Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him, yet he served.  Jesus knew that Thomas would doubt Him, yet he served.  Jesus knew that his disciples will all desert him, yet he served.

I have my share of heartaches and likewise, you had yours too.  But should that stop us from serving one another?  I hope not.  Let us serve and let us encourage others to do the same.

A Common Purpose
The common purpose is that we would all be presented holy and without spot on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Maturity is our goal.  Glory is His goal.  That is our common cause.  This only could happen when we begin to live for one another.  Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 5:12-13, “13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all.” What Paul meant is that he lives with this common purpose – He lived for God and he lived for others because it is the love of Christ that compels us.

Conclusion
Why are I and you serving the Lord?  Why are I and you to serve one another in the body of Christ?  It is the COMPELLING LOVE of Christ in us.  May His love fill you that you too will see the need to live for one another.