It means that I, in word and deed, clearly and profusely express all the good things I wish for a particular person and pray down on him. It means that I have a positive attitude toward the person, that I have faith and hope for him. It means that I impart goodness to him. It is to anoint and pour oil and balsam into his wounds. It is to serve and to do good, scattering good gifts. It is to forgive and forget, to requite evil with good, and to overlook other people’s mistakes. To bless means to empty alabaster flasks of precious, genuine ointment over the heads and feet of your fellow men (Matt. 26:7-8), even to “waste” precious items on them. To bless is the opposite of sparing and scrimping and skimping. It is to sacrifice anything to state unequivocally that you want the good for your fellow men. It is to say, “God bless you”; “God bless you mightily now and forever so that rivers of living water will always flow from your life”; “God make you a great blessing for many people”; “God give you abundant fruit from your life,” etc., and then mean it with all of your fervent heart! It is to be like Daniel exclaiming as soon as you see the person who has acted very badly against you, “O king, live forever!” Dan. 6:21. The blessing with which Reuben was blessed was: “Let Reuben live, and never die . . . .” Deut. 33:6. More days of grace mean more opportunities to receive blessings and to bless others. Many more days of grace mean many new opportunities to bless. Therefore we have this expression: Live! Rightly understood, it is a great blessing. Blessed friends! Let us pour out the blessings! We must not spare anything! Our fellow men need it.Your fellow partaker of rivers of blessings— Elias Aslaksen

Anything that is of any value for people on this earth occasions strife, arguments, and quarreling, as long as it is assessed according to human standards. But with the new birth, a transformation occurs in this area; we begin to measure things according to God’s standard. We are exhorted not to love the world or the things in the world, and if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15. This is easy to understand, for if we continue to love the world and the things in the world, true brotherhood will never come about. Carnal bonds must be cut completely just as Jesus did when He said to His mother, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?” John 2:4. He cut through family bonds according to the flesh and destroyed them in the sense that they had no authority over Him. “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.” 2 Cor. 5:16. The Jerusalem above is free; she is the mother of us all. Gal. 4:26. Those whose father and mother are in heaven are at home there, even as they are strangers and sojourners on earth. The brotherhood is a family in the Spirit. And in the brotherhood everything goes according to the laws of the Spirit of life. “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” 1 John 3:14. Love of the brotherhood is an unfailing sign of true life, just as committing acts of unrighteousness against another and hating each other are sure signs of not having life but signs of abiding in death. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34. Jesus loved us while we were still living in sin, making many mistakes and being deficient in many things; nevertheless, He loved us. Shall we, then, not love each other? “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10. He loved us despite the fact that we did not repay His love; in this, love is manifested. Love bears all things and endures all things. It is not quenched. Everything that goes by the name of love yet can be quenched is not perfect love. This is the great mystery of the brotherhood as well as its strength. The one person’s peculiar conduct does not irk or disturb another in the brotherhood of the saints. For example: A married couple, brother and sister in the Lord, love each other with the love of Christ. Then both of them are inspired by brotherhood, and this gives them surpassingly much more than marriage gives them. For, marriage is an earthly arrangement, but brotherhood is eternal and heavenly. All strife and quarreling is gone forever; the holy and unfailing bonds of brotherhood bind the married couple together. The attitude that compels us to forgive seven times seventy belongs in the brotherhood and is a fulfillment of loving the brotherhood. Let us respect the holy brotherhood and consider ourselves fortunate that we can be in the brotherhood, holding it in high esteem.Andreas Nilsen