The New Testament consistently communicates that following Jesus is lived out in how we treat one another. The “One Another’s” of Scripture are found everywhere (here are just a few):
John 13:14-15 - “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
John 13:34-35 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Romans 12:10 - “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 15:7 - “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
When you read most of these, they are in the form of a positive action…love…accept…bear with…encourage. These make sense. There is a different “one another” phrase that has always intrigued me. It does not come across to me as positive. In fact, I associate it with pain. I’m not going to spell it out here in this blog…I’m going make you look it up yourself in Hebrews 10:24. What does this look like to you? Do you associate this with pain and struggle?
Let’s start a discussion about spurs.
August 8th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I never thought of it in the negative. Some of the other versions use…Provoke unto love,Stirup, Encourage to outburts of love, Stimulate and excite one another to love…interesting…..Seems to be the idea of iron sharpening iron….
August 8th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
The KJV replaces spur with “provoke” - a more provocative word
. IMO no linkage to pain/struggle other than the fact it is a call to arms. Required action will be necessary of us lazy humans. And sometimes, we just don’t want to be put out as we think we don’t have time or we don’t have the inclination. So possibly, there is some struggle and pain due to lack of effort or laziness (consequences). To me, it very much represents similar thoughts as the other verses from John and Romans.
August 10th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Well, Spurs tend to remind me of something very irritating, and they do hurt. it made me think of those goat head stickers in Colorado that you get in your socks if you’re hiking in the mountains. Or bone spurs which may be seriously painful. So I guess thinking about this verse may impy that when we are in realtioship with each other, love may involve some wounds from somewhat irritating to very painful. One of the most painful things for me is to realize how I do not love others well in the form of a “spur” from a friend. It reminds me of the verse in proverbs, “wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy”. Sometimes the truth really does hurt, but it’s a hurt that has led me to love others better.
August 11th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I appreciate the way that you are thinking through this Scripture. I guess I come at it from this angle - to be spurred is almost to force to action or inaction because of irritation. A rider spurs his horse by kicking into the horses side. A bone spur irritates joint and keeps it from action.
As followers of Jesus we are not only to spur one another on toward action, but we are to welcome those who “kick sharp metal heels into our flanks.”
The Scripture from Proverbs 27:6 that you mentioned JewelAnne is appropriate here - “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”