Isolating ourselves, thinking that a life pleasing to God means only fasting, praying, or evangelizing, can be a mistake. These practices are essential, but a life that pleases God is one filled with brotherly love, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Jesus spoke of this love: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” John questioned how one could claim to love God without loving their brother. The hallmark of a life pleasing to God is daily practicing love for our neighbors. The early church lived in unity, a model we should follow today.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Every believer should naturally love their brothers without constant reminders. If we are not practicing this, we must correct our path to live a life that truly pleases God.
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