Things to Keep in Mind

2 Corinthians 13:11-13 ESV
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you.

In the closing of his letters, Paul always gave a final instruction to his readers. This one was no different. In fact we would fare well if we took these things to heart.

• Rejoice. Cease concentrating on what’s wrong around you and take joy that you belong to Jesus!!!
• Restore. It’s much easier to turn your back on someone who has hurt you, but then you lose in the long run. The reward is when you can reconcile after there has been pain.
• Reassure. We all need a little help from our friends. Comforting is called for. Keep the “I told you so” to yourself and truly love your brother.
• Reach agreement. We don’t always see eye to eye. It takes work to agree with one another. Our God is not a God of chaos. He has provided us a point that we can agree on – seek that point.
• Rest in His Peace. I believe the best way to be at peace with one another is to be resting in the peace that passes understanding, the peace that Christ has given us. If you find that you are not at peace with your brothers, look to see if you have peace in Christ.
• Respond to others in Christ. Greet one another. Make sure you acknowledge others. Make them know that they are important to you. This is an area I have to be mindful of – I tend to get task oriented and let people pass me by.

I doubt that any words that Paul wrote at the end of his letters were just tacked on as ornaments. They were and are the word of God. Things that we are challenged to put into practice so that we can truly love one another.