The life that pleases God

We could make the mistake of isolating ourselves from our brothers in Christ and from society, thinking that a life that pleases God is only one that stays away from others, whether by fasting, praying or evangelizing. We must know that what is mentioned is completely healthy for the life of every believer, but we must also understand that a life that pleases God is one that has brotherly love, that loves his neighbor as well as himself.

Jesus spoke of this love saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” John also said: How can you say that you love God and not love your brother? Scripture constantly brings us back to this same point because it is fundamental to the Christian walk. And it is that the seal of a pleasant life before God is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. This is something that must be practiced intentionally every day. Remember the primitive church: the Bible says that they were unanimous in everything they did, sharing their goods, praying together, breaking bread, and walking as one family. There, fraternal love reigned, and it is something that we should not leave locked in the pages of history. It is a model we must imitate in the present.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

10 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;

11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

It is supposed that every believer should have this love for his brothers without needing someone to constantly insist on the same topic. Paul even acknowledges that the Thessalonians already practiced this love in a visible and tangible way, across all the brethren in Macedonia. Still, he exhorts them to “increase more and more,” teaching us that brotherly love has no limit—we continually grow in it, refine it, and expand it.

Loving our brothers is not merely an emotion; it is a practice that is demonstrated in attitudes such as being peaceful, minding our own business, working honestly, and behaving in a way that honors Christ before believers and unbelievers alike. When Paul speaks of “walking honestly toward those that are without,” he reminds us that our witness before the world is strengthened or weakened by how we treat one another. The world does not primarily judge Christianity by our sermons but by our love.

Brotherly love also protects us from pride, division, gossip, envy, and all those internal poisons that Satan uses to weaken the church. When we love as Christ loved, we become instruments of peace and restoration. Love leads us to forgive quickly, to help joyfully, to pray sincerely, and to serve without expecting anything in return. A congregation filled with this type of love becomes a refuge for the weary and a testimony of the transforming power of the Gospel.

Dear brothers, if we are not practicing this properly, then we must stop on the path and begin to act properly, so that we can begin to have a life that is completely pleasing to God. Let us examine our hearts: Are we loving our neighbor? Are we patient, kind, forgiving, humble? Or have we allowed indifference or selfishness to grow? Today is a good day to return to the path of love, to strengthen our relationships, and to honor the God who first loved us.

May God help us increase more and more in this brotherly love, so that our lives and our churches reflect the beauty of Christ to the world.