Duties demand us to realize that we are all one body, TOGETHER.
Malachi 2:10
[10] Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Proverbs 22:2
[2] The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
Do we not see whether we want to accept it or not that we are all one body? There are many occasions where people choose not to accept everyone in a church simply because “we don’t like them”. We have a given duty to be better than that, and love should be the driver of that duty!
We have to accept that we also have a duty to ourselves to stay continually “up”. We as individuals must begin to be in a good Godly place so that we can be of help to others also. We that are knowledgeable in this (or rich in spirit) have to learn to server those that simply are not of the understanding (or poor in spirit) yet.
Romans 15:1-2
[1] We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Romans 13:10
[10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
We have to begin to realize that we as the church of today have a duty to our neighbors (those that are close to us). It is my given duty to edify you, lift you up and encourage you!
When I read the phrase “worketh no ill”, it tells me to not go out of my way to make someone mad or work against them. I have found that reading through the word of God makes us grow up and do things that mature Godly adults should be doing!
We cannot always assume that people know that we love or care about them. We have to actively begin to show through our obedience to God as well as our willingness to obey even when we feel weak or do not feel like it.
Proverbs 25:21-22
[21] If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
[22] For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Proverbs 24:17-18
[17] Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
[18] Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
With being willing to serve our enemies (those working against us) comes a love that we thought that we never had, thus entering the true love of God.
You will begin to demonstrate qualities to others that you never thought that you ever could: forgiveness, compassion, mercy, patience, etc. These qualities and more will begin to stand out in you all the more if you will allow them to.
One of the most wore out excuses about disobedience in church is that “someone offended me and I just can’t do it now”. Are we not grown up enough to move on past these things and go forward with our lives? Imagine the weight that would be lifted off of you if you moved on from things that have been hindering you for so long!
Leviticus 19:34
[34] But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Matthew 25:35-36
[35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
[36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
We are going to have those in our midst that need to be just as important as those we know and love. One of the integral parts of the ministry is our duties to strangers (those we do not know). We have to remember that we are only effective to people that do not know Jesus Christ when we are being virtuous in and out of service. I cannot emphasize this enough, but we must do this when we feel like it or when we do not! We have to always remember that everybody is somebody, and that Jesus is Lord! I hope that I spend the same amount of time for a stranger to find Christ as I would some of my closest loved ones!