My brother (or sister) was my first playmate, best friend, and the one who knows me best.

OR

My brother (or sister) was my biggest tormentor, my parents favorite, and my rival.

If you have a sibling, I imagine that you have made a statement somewhere in between these two about your sibling.  After all, family dynamics are not easy!

On Sunday, some of the youth were sharing their thoughts about being

the oldest in the family

• I always have more work to do
• all they do is play
• they have it so easy

and the youngest in the family

• I get dragged everywhere
• I never get to do anything the older ones do
• it’s no fair!

Families in the Bible are as messy!!  Think about it… Jacob and Esau; Joseph and his brothers; Mary, Martha and Lazarus; Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  I wonder what they had to say about each other?

The families of today, yesterday, and ancient times should all be about LOVE and KINDNESS!!  After all, isn’t that what God is all about?  The siblings in the Bible all loved each other and helped each other.  They had some times of hardship and struggle, but they loved each other.  Didn’t Esau run to meet Jacob when he came home?  Didn’t Joseph feed his brothers after all they had done to him?  As Mary and Martha grieved…didn’t they also rejoice?

Proverbs 17:17

Friends love all the time,

and kinsfolk are are born for times of trouble.

For times of trouble…who should be there for you?  Kinsfolk…families…siblings…Brother and Sisters in Christ!!!