Brothers & sisters or just distant relations?

      In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul writes: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8: 16-17, NAS).
      This verse illustrates the point that, as Christians, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, although I would find it a difficult point to defend in the case of many who claim that they are Christians because of the behaviour of so many towards those who, according to their claim, are brothers and sisters in Christ.
      Recently I conducted the funeral service of a man who had been one of my flock up until my recent retirement from the church which I had pastored for the past twelve years. I was saddened to see that not one member of the congregation turned up for the service, even though his death had been publicised to them.
      A few years ago I was on a visit to the elderly daughter of a lady with whom I had been very friendly. The daughter, a committed Christian and member of a local church, had been suffering from Parkinson's for several years, despite which she still continued to drive other church folk about whenever she could in order to help them out. She was a regular visitor to fellow church members who were unwell, and her Christian service to the church family continued until she was unable to carry on due to the worsening of her condition. Her actions over the years truly displayed those of a 'sister in Christ'. Sadly, the subject of our conversation was the fact that, since she had been confined to her home as a result of her condition, not one person from her church had been to visit her.
      If this was an isolated case then that would be one thing, but the sad fact is that, in my own experience, once a member of a church becomes too frail or too unwell to continue attending the services and social events then they are quickly relegated so far on the back-benches that they are forgotten apart from the occasional mention. Far from being a brother or sister in Christ they are treated at best as a very distant relation. Certainly this has applied to many folk whom I have known personally, and where I was often the only visitor that they saw apart from their family and perhaps a neighbour.
      Of course, in order to build friendships that will last the course, no matter what the circumstances, it is necessary to be a lasting friend to others, although my comments about the lady with Parkinson's proves that even unselfishly serving others is no guarantee that others will unselfishly serve you when you are in need. 
      Claiming to b a Christian is one thing, demonstrating the love and compassion of Christ to others is another altogether. Of one thing I'm certain --- being a distant relation is just one step away from being an unknown, and that is no way for a brother or sister to behave.