"His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judæa, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
For neither did his brethren believe in him."
John 7:3-5
The "neither did his brethren believe in him" part made me think about how hard it must have been to be Christ. Not just the burden of the sins of the world, which of course already is bigger than anyone else could bear, but also just regular life. At this point he is hanging out with family in Galilee, and it is well known that some people are trying to kill him, and they tell him that he can't hide. :) In some ways that is true, but in other ways... I mean, are you willing to risk his life like that? Not cool. So he tells them to go up to the feast without him, and he travels in secret afterward, popping up later to teach in the temple.
And of course we don't know, but I imagine all that led to this point, how different he was from the people around him and not really fitting in, some healthy doses of envy from others, and huge expectations from people other than his Heavenly Father. Some kindness and understanding would have gone a long way.
I'm not saying it is easy to believe in, support, or love everyone, but we have the chance to make things a little bit better for others with huge burdens, whether we know about those or not. All it takes is some kindness and support... having faith in their ability to succeed, looking out for their best interests, etc. And it almost feels like we can do that retroactively for Christ, because he tells us that "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). Today, let's make an extra effort to be believe in other people, and to treat them with kindness, respect, and love in his name.
For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
For neither did his brethren believe in him."
John 7:3-5
The "neither did his brethren believe in him" part made me think about how hard it must have been to be Christ. Not just the burden of the sins of the world, which of course already is bigger than anyone else could bear, but also just regular life. At this point he is hanging out with family in Galilee, and it is well known that some people are trying to kill him, and they tell him that he can't hide. :) In some ways that is true, but in other ways... I mean, are you willing to risk his life like that? Not cool. So he tells them to go up to the feast without him, and he travels in secret afterward, popping up later to teach in the temple.
And of course we don't know, but I imagine all that led to this point, how different he was from the people around him and not really fitting in, some healthy doses of envy from others, and huge expectations from people other than his Heavenly Father. Some kindness and understanding would have gone a long way.
I'm not saying it is easy to believe in, support, or love everyone, but we have the chance to make things a little bit better for others with huge burdens, whether we know about those or not. All it takes is some kindness and support... having faith in their ability to succeed, looking out for their best interests, etc. And it almost feels like we can do that retroactively for Christ, because he tells us that "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). Today, let's make an extra effort to be believe in other people, and to treat them with kindness, respect, and love in his name.
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