The One Anothers

The One Anothers

Did you enjoy your Christmas break? Have you made New Year’s resolutions? Have you broken them yet?

I usually do not make resolutions; too much guilt when they are forgotten or set aside. Maybe a word or a motto for the year would be a better idea?  This year, I have been drawn back to the “one anothers” in the Bible and, finding myself a little short, am thinking this may be a place to start. But let me back up.

It started with trying to refocus during Christmas. There’s something about singing “Come O Come Emmanuel” and of the time when “every valley will be exalted and every mountain and hill made low” that fills me with longing during the Christmas season. I want Christ to return and make all things right as He rules here on earth. I want to sing “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” and rejoice that “the crooked (is) straight and the rough places, plain.” Those thoughts, plus a discussion with friends on what it really means to pray that God’s will be done on earth in the same way His will is done in heaven, led me to begin looking for God’s kingdom on earth, being lived out around me in the here and now. I found that when I see God’s will being done on earth, I see examples of the “one anothers”.

So what are these “one anothers” I am talking about? By my count, there are 52 times (one for each week of the year?) in the New Testament (NASB version) that Christians are commanded to do, or not to do, something to or for “one another”.

Love one another is found 12 times (one per month?) in six different books. (Jn 15:12 & 17, Rom 13:18, 1Thes 3:12 & 4:9, 1 Pet 1:22 &  4:8, 1 Jn 3:11 & 23, 4:11 & 12, 2 Jn 1:5). But it is a command that is broad and therefore vague. I see the rest of the “one anothers” as fleshing that out.

The negative examples almost seem too obvious.  Do we really have to be told not to hate, betray, bite, devour, consume, challenge, envy, judge, lie to, repay with evil, speak against, complain about, or kill one another? (Matt 24:10, Titus 3:3, Gal 5:15 & 26, Rom 14:13, Col 3:19, 1 Thes 5:15, Jas 5:9, Rev 6:4) Unfortunately, yes, we do because before we hate or kill someone, we may just find ourselves complaining about or challenging them. Do we jab or bite when our envy seeks retaliation? Don’t read this list too quickly. Ask the Lord if your actions or attitudes show up here.

I’ve split the positives into four groups. I hope you see many of these when you look in the mirror of the Scripture, but maybe you need to be more intentional about them like I do.

We are told to honor one another by giving preference to, caring for, waiting for, being kind to, being subject to, humble toward, considering more important than self, seeking what is good for, serving,  and being hospitable to one another. (Rom12:10, 1 Cor 11:13 & 12:25, Eph 4:32 & 5:21, 1 Pet 5:5, Phil 2:3, 1 Thes 5:15, 1 Pet 4:9 & 10) Wow, this looks like loving involves more work than I was prepared for!

And further we’re asked to encourage one another by building up, stimulating to love and good deeds, admonishing, bearing with, bearing burdens of, speaking truth to, speaking in psalms and hymns to, confessing to, and praying for one another. (1 Thes 5:11, Heb 3:13 & 10:24, Rom 14:19 & 15:14, Col 3:13 & 16,  Eph 4:2, 25 & 5:19, Gal 6:2, Jas 5:16) I guess this means I can’t just avoid awkward situations, but need to speak up, whether that is to admonish or confess.  At least I can keep it lighthearted by singing!

Think of what unity we would have if we did all that! Though I didn’t find the exact wording, “be united with one another”, we are told to be of the same mind with, accept, have fellowship with, and be devoted to one another. (Rom 12:10, 16 & 15:5 & 7, 1 Jn 1:7) Shortly before His death, Jesus prays that believers would “all be one; even as You, Father are in Me and I in You”. (Jn 17:21a) To be as united with others as Jesus is with the Father is an awfully high bar!

The second most common use of “one another” is to greet one another. (Rom 16:16, 1Cor 16:20. 2 Cor 13:12, 1 Pet 5:14) This is culturally a bit out of our comfort zone as we are told to greet with a kiss. But let’s think about how we can apply it. First, do we greet each other at all? I’ll admit that I have scurried past when I’ve seen someone I recognize on the next aisle in the grocery store because I just wasn’t in the mood to talk. Not many of us kiss when greeting, but do we touch each other?  Even a handshake, or a touch on the shoulder, requires a level of intimacy that goes a bit past the surface. How many people do you know well enough to hug when you greet them? I think this command is telling us to have relationships with those in our communities. 

Am I up to all this? It will take work. Sometimes it will be awkward and uncomfortable. But the rest John 17:21 tells why the “one anothers” are so important. “… that they may also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  That’s a huge responsibility!  Grab your Bible and read all of John 17. I think you will find it encouraging and even empowering to see what Jesus was praying for you as He was preparing to leave the earth.

Compiling the “one anothers” didn’t leave me with a neat little list of boxes to check throughout the year, but I am reminded of a quote from Ken Medema that says, “Love the people you know and know the people you love,” so I have chosen that for my motto for 2026.