Sibling of the Savior

I heard a story (true or not, I'm not sure) about a man who paid a visit to a Primary class. Apparently, he was friends with the teacher? Anyhow, the children seemed somewhat fascinated with the man, thinking that he bore an uncanny resemblance to someone else whose picture they had seen. One of the children finally worked up the courage to ask him, "Are you Jesus?" The man wasn't sure what to say, but the Primary teacher said, "No, that's His brother."

This story (true or not, it doesn't matter) highlights an eternal truth. All people, imperfect as they are, are siblings of the Savior. He loves them like family, because they are. When we interact with other people, even strangers, we should bear in mind that not only are they our spirit brothers and sisters, but also His.

Thinking about that makes me look at others in a different light. It makes me want to treat people nicer, since they have a close, familial, if not also personal relationship to Someone with whom I want to have a close, personal relationship. It's kind of like talking to a friend of a friend. You may not know your friend's friend personally, but you still might be friendly to your friend's friend, if only for the sake of your friendship with your friend. Because Jesus loves all His brothers and sisters, He cares a lot how we treat them, so we should treat them nicely, if only to strengthen our relationship with Him.

We are currently reading the Epistle of James, Jesus' biological half-brother, and that's pretty special, but while we may not be biologically related to Jesus, we are all spiritually related to Him even closer than James was, biologically, and that's true of everyone who ever lived. Granted, there are plenty of black sheep in this family, but they're still family, and they can still end up where the Savior is if they follow the path He opened up for them and for all of us.

It's good to feel a kinship with all mankind, and we certainly have such a kinship, but it's a lot more meaningful to know that everyone on Earth has a direct, spiritual kinship with Jesus.