Letters of Love
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
– Philippians 2:1-4
In the four short letters to the churches in Galatia, Philippi, Ephesus and Colossae, Paul encourages the new believers to have the heart and mind of Christ. These letters were intended to be shared among the churches as a little instruction manual on how to live in community. Some of them focus on what not to do and other parts encourage them on what they should do. In all of them, the focus is about noticing the needs of people around you and following the example of Jesus.
As we read through these books, I encourage you to write down your questions. Bring them to Pastor’s Bible Study this week on Thursday at 10am. Let’s work through the confusing or conflicting parts and find the essence of what God is teaching us through these letters of Paul. Remember, that “it is by grace we are saved through Christ”, so even when we get it completely wrong, there is grace to cover that, too!
You are the Source of all Life, O God, offering yourself to us beyond our imagination. Yet so often what comes streaming out of our own hearts is not grace, but gossip; not compassion, but comparison; not peace, but passive-aggression; not hope, but hurt. You are the Source of all Life, O God. Forgive us for turning to other sources, gorging ourselves with that which does not satisfy. Fill us once again with faith, hope, and love, and connect us to you so that we may be springs of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control. We ask in the name of Jesus the Christ, who quenches thirst with living water. Amen.
