I always wanted a brother. I have two wonderful sisters whom I love dearly. But I saw the way they interacted with one another, their deep bond as sisters. I wanted similar. Though I have been a Christian for a while it was only in the last year or so that I realised I have not been missing out.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ
One of the main ways God describes his church is as family: through the saving work of our older brother Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can call God “Father” (Rom 8:14–17). As God’s children, every follower of Jesus is now a brother and sister in Christ.
I have known this for many years, but what I have appreciated of late is that being a brother and sister in Christ is not just a biblical truth; God has given us a language to call one another by. It’s not just we are brothers and sisters in Christ; we are also encouraged to call one another “brother in Christ” and “sister in Christ”.
I am struck by Jesus’ interaction with the bleeding woman in Mark chapter 5. We do not know her name, yet Jesus calls her by one of the most precious names, “daughter”. The God of the universe says to a woman who was rejected by all, you are mine, you are family.
Over 119 times the Paul refers to various churches or fellow ministers in the gospel as his brothers and sisters. Often with the addition of the words “my dear”, “our” or “your”. James, Peter and John join Paul in using this family language.
Now to be honest, when I started calling fellow Christians “brother” or “sister” a few years back, it was mainly because I did not know their name. But what started out as a cover-up, began to be filled with great beauty and significance for me.
The Beauty and Significance of “Brother” and “Sister”
I have recently left my church of ten years to be a lead pastor of another. As I left, I was struck by the repeated comments of thankfulness by various members of the church for me calling them brother and sister. The word of Debbie, a new Christian, brought me to tears:
I became a Christian in 2021. I was blown away by how kind and welcoming people were. I kept hearing about this “Christian family” I was now a part of. When James called me “sister” the first time, it felt weird because through the blood of my mother and father, I have two siblings and James isn’t one of them.
But it felt good to be treated as an equal by James. Even though he was my pastor and appointed with authority to stand before us and teach God’s word, he called me sister. I never felt less than when speaking with him, I was always “sister”, a part of his family, God’s family.
As my relationship with God grew into something far more deeply than I imagined possible. I realised that through the blood of Jesus Christ, I truly was James’ sister and I was able to say “Thank you, brother.”
We do not have the right to choose who is in God’s family. God does the adoption through his perfect son, Jesus Christ; he has adopted a diverse bunch. But we do get the joy of choosing to use the language God has given us. There are many ways we express being part of God’s family: through hospitality, singing together and the Lord’s supper, but there is also deliberately using the language of brother and sister.
I may not have a biological brother and only two biological sisters, but by God’s grace I have an abundance of brothers and sisters in Christ. Too many to meet now—but that is what eternity is for.
