“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”
Hebrews 13:1 “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”
At first glance you might look at our Bible passage for this week and say to yourself, “Really?”.
If you were raised with brothers and/or sisters, you likely know well what “sibling rivalry” is and were probably often involved in sibling squabbles. But in spite of sibling rivalry, there is another part of sibling relationships which is also true: as much as siblings might fight and squabble, there is a deep love and care for each other. The last thing you want to do is get into a disagreement with one sibling in the presence of the others because the other siblings will come to the aid and defense of their sibling. 
It is that care for and commitment to a sibling which the writer to the Hebrews is drawing on as he pens the words of our verse for this week. If earthly brothers and sisters will fight for, come to the aid of and defend one another, how much more shouldn’t that be true for brothers and sisters in Christ? When we know and understand that we are connected to each other by the blood of Jesus, there should be a care and concern for one another which is higher and deeper than anything else this side of heaven.
Having said that, we all know how often we fall short on “loving one another as brothers and sisters”. We are painfully aware of the times that we have degraded, hated or insulted each other. We don’t like to be reminded of the times we have treated each other more like enemies than brothers and sisters in Christ.
That is why we need to go back to the first 2 words of this week’s verse – “Keep on”. This verse reminds us that in order to truly be “loving one another as brothers and sisters”, all of us need to daily start at the foot of the cross. We need to confess our sins and failures to be loving and caring and then ask God to give us the wisdom and strength to “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters”.
Think for a moment of all the possible applications of this verse and principles we have outlined. This does not just refer to fellow Christians at church or in the context of our Christian relationships. This applies in the home, when we are out in public in social settings, it applies to our deepest personal conversations and what an opportunity we have to apply this in our professional life!
Each of us has likely been in a work setting where it almost seems like a competition to see who can mistreat our coworkers the most and the harshest.
This isn’t easy, nor will we do it perfectly all the time. But remember where that spiritual sibling relationship begins and what it is built on – Jesus. He is the one who calls us to truly love one another and he is the only one who can strengthen us and equip us to do exactly that!