By Marcel Rebiai

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10

In this world, relationships of convenience always arise. People with similar interests meet and profit from one another until their interests change and separate them. Common sympathies, talent, knowledge, beauty and power all play a big role, and relationships are often chosen according to the criteria of their utility; we need others in order to have life.

Christian community is like a family that we are born into, and thus we cannot choose who our brothers and sisters are. Relationships of convenience can break down at any time; yet, as uncomfortable as it can sometimes be, we cannot simply leave our family. Family ties are eternal and what binds us together as followers of Jesus is that we belong to this family, regardless of performance. We don’t meet in order to obtain life from each other, but to experience Jesus, the Giver of life, with and in each other. Our motivation in meeting with our brothers and sisters does not lie in who they are, but in who Jesus is in them. Others will no longer have to meet our needs, since we receive our acknowledgement and worth from Christ alone. God’s kingdom becomes ever more visible when we carry each other out of love for Jesus – not because of reciprocated sympathies – and do not distance ourselves from others when their weaknesses become evident.

In a community that is based on God’s Word, no one has to fight for their place, rights, life or value. On the contrary, we should submit to one another, meaning we need to look to our brothers’ and sisters’ interests instead of getting the attention we think we need for ourselves.

This devotional is taken from the book To See God by Marcel Rebiai. If you would like to order your own copy, please email us here, [email protected].

Marcel Rebiai is a board member of Revive Israel, and is inspiration for our community. Marcel was born in Algiers in 1953. He came to Switzerland as a war orphan and received faith in Jesus in his youth, which changed his life and made him a messenger of God’s love in Jesus. Since then, he has been faithfully working for the building of the community of Messiah. Marcel is the founder of the “Community of Reconciliation”, an organization that works for reconciliation between Jews and Arabs based on God’s forgiveness and love in Christ. Marcel teaches in various settings around the world about the love that God revealed to us in Jesus, a love that enables reconciliation. Marcel has been living in Jerusalem for the last 30 years, is married to Regula, and has four children and eleven grandchildren.