Romans 16:3-16 "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. ...Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings." Not only was Paul God's favorite servant, he also knew how to make friends. If you count carefully, Paul greeted more than one hundred people in his letters. And he never did group greetings; instead, he greeted everyone specifically. It shows that they were not just ordinary friends, but people who fellowshipped in the Lord. A phrase was used a lot in this passage, namely "in Christ". This term is very crucial in Paul's theology. When he met the Lord on his way to Damascus, the Lord shed light on him and a voice asked him: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" At that time Saul was puzzled, for he knew whoever spoke to him in the light was the Lord of his life. But he didn't understand when he ever persecuted the Lord. So he responded: "I never persecuted you. Who are you? I just persecute Christians!" Surprisingly the voice in the light said: "I am Jesus, who you persecute." He suddenly realized that Jesus was in unity with his believers. He persecuted the Lord by persecuting the disciples of the Lord. From then on, the concept of "in Christ" was burnt into his heart. He knew that the Lord was always in unity with his believers. In addition, when Ananias came to pray for him, Ananias addressed him by "brother Saul". Then he suddenly realized again how close they were in the Lord, closer than siblings to each other in a family. In Jesus, we become brothers and sisters in God's family. What a blissful grace it is! Do you have spiritual friends in the Lord? We really lack such friends nowadays. When you come to the church just to attend service or meeting, you lack the opportunity to fellowship openly. Even sisters are the same. In the old days, they gathered together to wash clothes and talk with each other. But nowadays women are just as busy with their work. We also lack the spiritual partners. Let us pray for your spiritual partner whom God will provide to you. You need to attend the cell group in the church, as well as all activities, so that you can find the spiritual partner God has prepared for you during the process. Let's stay in unity in the Lord and march forward hand in hand. Pray with Pastor Tong Liu Lord, we thank you for your grace, so that we can be part of your family. We thank you for providing many sisters and brothers to us. May you provide a spiritual partner to us, so that we will never be lonely in our spiritual pursuit. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
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