John15:13
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
The word friends used here in the greek is philos. Philos is greek for brotherly love so contextually you can read the passage this way. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his brothers. The problem I have seen for quite some time is that brother gets tossed around way too much these days. In fact most look at the aspect of brotherhood ass backwards. A good friend, mentor, and brother in Christ once posted a comment to a post I put on Facebook asking the definition of brotherhood. He said, and I am paraphrasing, brotherhood isn't our choice; the problem is that it is seen as a transactional process. Brotherhood is not transactional.
His point was when it comes to blood relations, we don't get to choose our parents or our siblings. When it comes to military, we don't get to choose our brothers either; government assigns them. When it comes to the biker community many times it is also not our choice; for those that choose to belong to an organization; choose to probate or prospect, the back patch decides, if they make the cut. Finally, in Christ we do not decide either; He does.
In family, our brothers and sisters are genetically similar; we have the same parents, we have the same cultural and social contexts, and-like them or not-we are related. The same goes for the veteran and biker communities: the connection is different-instead of genetics, it's a patch on the shoulder or on the back. It's months of training to perform a specific task, a specific job, and many specific missions, or years of riding and fellowship together with similar, specific tasks and missions. The closest common denominator to an outsider or civilian is genetics, or a patch. Genetics is beyond my scope or pay grade to explain, but a one piece, or two, or three pieces of cloth sewn together in an ornate fashion on denim, or leather that brings out a symbol of unity, a symbol of belonging that is all they see or understand. But their understanding comes with a whole lot of baggage from their perspective.
We as veterans and bikers are outsiders. Mentally ill, scooter trash, angry, don't fit in society, to put it nicely, from their perspective. What they say as insults or shortcomings we see as compliments and achievements. Outsider, yes and proud of it.
But a symbol is just a symbol, isn't it?
What holds that symbol together? What makes up a patches genetics. To the civilian, it's a simple thread sewn together that if sewn in the right stitch is sturdy. To the veteran, to the club member, and should be to the Church, there is much more that holds it together than a simple, single, weak thread. It is a conviction of purpose, it is integrity, it is character, and above all it's loyalty, love and respect. In each group, whether it is biker, veteran, or the church, it is much deeper, or should be, than the physical limits of a simple thread that makes an ornate design on some pieces of cloth or leather. It is the interwoven experiences of lives that share a common bond, an experience in interwoven context. For the veteran, it is the experience of training, discipline, and (for many) combat. For the biker it is very much the same, but a different context; as well as the Christian. In the former it is mostly physical; in the latter it is mostly spiritual, but in each case the spiritual and the physical overlap.
The struggle comes when we reduce the complex nature of brotherhood to a simple transaction: what can you do for me?
As fallen creatures, fallible humans, it is easy for us to oversimplify everything we do. This is why we go through the drive-through window for a quick bite of a mystery meat burger in lieu of a good meal. When brotherhood becomes transactional, it becomes the same thing as a fast food burger compared to a prime rib meal with all of the fixings. Brotherhood is not about what you can do for me, it is about what I can do for you. This includes how I can help make your burden lighter; as well as how I can help you make your integrity and character better and I should desire the same for me. Brotherhood is a double edged sword; it should, when applied correctly, cut both ways, but if you cut a brother it should only be a cut to heal, or for his gain in health, in love and respect. If you cut at a brother in any other way you have failed your oath as a brother. We should never cut to lose. The churches, veterans and bikers that have not grasped this concept as of yet are missing to a large extent the entire concept of brotherhood; it cannot be approached with any ulterior motives. It must only be approached in the utmost humility, love and respect and only from as altruistic a perspective as we can muster.
This was Christ's point in our passage first and foremost He was preparing them for His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. But he was also preparing them to live as he lived. He didn't sit back in an easy life of a carpenter. He chose the road and he considered those that chose his path and shared the road with Him to be brothers. The passage doesn't say the greatest love is to die for your brother, but to lay down your life, set it aside, for your brother. Which means put his or her needs before your own.
The truth is It's easy to die for someone you love; but it's harder to live for them. To live for them is to accept their flaws, their human element. To call me brother is to ask for my accountability; to accept my brotherhood is to hold me accountable. We must be able to accept the others strengths and weaknesses. Applauding the former and in love correcting the other in humility. The first and only question anyone should be asking is am I brother material and the second is this, am I willing to be his keepe
