When the bus dropped us off fifty-two years ago, my two older brothers and I sprinted a kilometer or two down the cobblestone streets of Schrollbach, Germany, trying to be the first to see our new baby brother. Just yesterday, we were trying to remember who won the race. As the youngest, I am confident that it was not me, though I would love to run it again.
Who was in Paul’s family? We know he had a sister because Acts tells us he had a nephew who helped him. We don’t know their names. But Paul’s letters tell us he had brothers and sisters across the ancient world. At the crescendo of his letter to the Philippians, Paul is thinking about family in Christ. He urges them to stand firm in the Lord. Then he asks them to help two of the sisters get along with each other. In the end, he sends greetings to and from his spiritual siblings.
My brothers and I are still close. We share a common heritage and lots of memories. Along the way, each of us has collected new brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. Once I went to a birthday party and met the people who pray with my eldest brother. As my friends here “stick closer than a brother,” so do my brothers’ friends here and in other cities. In Christ, there is a kinship and a koinonia that transcends family relationships. Our names are written together in the book of life.
When David, Dan, and I saw Darin in his crib, we all won, because we welcomed a new brother. In the race of the Christian life, we all win as God continues to build his family. Love each other well. Help each other along the way. We are not competing against each other in the Christian family. None of us makes it home without the help of others.
