When Jerry and I first moved to this area, we were about a year into our marriage. Like many young couples, we thought it would be a great idea to get a puppy. Being poor and firm believers in rescue pups, we headed to the Wake County Animal Shelter. We walked the aisles and saw many pups that could have come home to be part of our family, but long story short, instead of leaving with one puppy, we brought home two full-grown collies, whom we promptly named Lady and Bootsie. They were the most amazing dogs, and though we never knew their relationship, there was a bond between them, and Lady certainly saw herself as Bootsie’s protector. Lady would jump between Bootsie and any suspected danger. Anything from a stranger in our home to an unknown bug to the vacuum—which was always enemy number one.
Just like Lady, there are people that are natural protectors. Those that want to save, protect, and keep safe those they know and those they have never met. The beautiful thing is God can and will use these desires in our hearts to lovingly seek out and protect those within the faith and those that need the faith.
It makes me wonder, do we love well by protecting one another from the lies, or hurts, or “vacuums” of this world? When that vacuum powered up, Lady would leap between it and Bootsie. The vacuum was scary and unknown, and yet Lady gave no thought to what might happen to her; she was focused on protecting her sister. Do we do that? Do we jump between the enemy and our brothers and sisters in Christ? Do we protect them? And if we did, what would that look like?
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. -1 Thessalonians 5:14-15
Protecting one another within the faith doesn’t always, or rarely, mean physical protection. To care and protect each other, these verses give us instructive guidelines. There is a protection that requires warning. In these passages, it is to warn those who are lazy. Maybe they are lazy in their faith, in their endurance, in their defense of the truth. Maybe they are lazy in loving the body of Christ well, in loving and serving their family. Paul gives instructions to warn those in these situations. Protecting your brothers and sisters in Christ is taking the time to lovingly intervene and warn them that they are on a destructive path. A path that will lead them away from Christ and his church.
There are times that protection looks more tender and gentle. Maybe they are suffering, or they are under the attacks of the enemy, and the only way to help them keep moving is to encourage them. Encourage them that they aren’t alone. Encourage them that the strength of Christ will not fail them. Encourage them that the Holy Spirit will be with them and deliver their prayers to the Father. These times of encouragement are a way to protect the members of the church from the pitfalls of despair and discouragement.
It is our responsibility and duty to those within the body to lovingly seek how to do good for one another. We must take the time to get to know those we serve and study and worship with. By knowing one another, we will know how to protect them. Knowing that doing good for those within the body will strengthen the whole body of Christ. By protecting one another, we protect the church.
Protection of one another might mean stepping between them and the danger they face. It could mean seeking to do them good, when they feel the world weighing on their shoulders. But our goal is the same: to help them walk in a way that is worthy of the gospel they, and we, have been called to. To love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, and souls, and love one another the way Christ loves us.
