A Different Kind of Love
Hebrews 13 opens with a simple but radical command:
“Let brotherly love continue.” (v.1)
The Greek word here is philadelphia — not just warm feelings, but a love based on loyalty and commitment. It’s a love that sticks.
And then the writer of Hebrews gives us a picture of what this looks like:
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- Love the stranger — open your life and your table.
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- Remember the prisoner — stand in solidarity with those suffering.
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- Care for the mistreated — show empathy to those easily forgotten.
This is Christlike grace: love that moves beyond our comfort zone and reaches those outside our circle. Jesus makes it plain in Matthew 25: “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did it to me.”
When you love the stranger, the prisoner, and the mistreated — you meet Christ.
How We Fall Away from Love
But the author doesn’t stop with the positive examples. Verses 4 and 5 show us the counterfeit loves that pull us off course:
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- Infidelity — chasing our own pleasure instead of honoring others.
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- Marriage, the text says, is honorable when kept in faithfulness.
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- Unfaithfulness isn’t just sexual sin — it’s putting self over commitment.
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- Infidelity — chasing our own pleasure instead of honoring others.
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- The love of money — clinging to possessions instead of trusting God.
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- Our culture tells us we never have enough.
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- But grace teaches contentment: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
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- The love of money — clinging to possessions instead of trusting God.
Both of these are really just different ways of saying, “I love myself more than others.”
Anchored in Christ
The good news is this:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (v.8)
We don’t love out of our own strength. We love out of His unchanging grace. His presence frees us from fear, greed, and self-interest.
Grace starts in Christ and then expands outward — from brotherly love to the stranger, the prisoner, and the mistreated. From pauper to prince.
What This Means for Us
So what does this look like in practice? Here are some next steps:
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- Welcome a stranger. Invite someone outside your circle into your life this week.
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- Stand with the suffering. Support a local ministry, visit someone isolated, or listen deeply to someone hurting.
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- Honor dignity. Keep your commitments, treat relationships with respect.
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- Practice contentment. Choose generosity over greed, trusting God to provide.
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” — John Wesley
Final Word
Grace isn’t just a doctrine we believe. It’s a life we live. When we give ourselves wholly and equally — to the stranger, the prisoner, the mistreated, the rich and the poor — we live out the very grace of Christ.
And in doing so, we just might find that the One we are really serving is Jesus Himself.