Regarding Paul

I always have to admire the way the apostle Paul opened and closed his letters. Of course I appreciate the content of those letters as well, but I think some of us may have a tendency to skim over the opening and closing in favor of the "meat" of the letter, much the same way that we often skim over genealogies, ('So-and-So begat So-and-So...') . In so doing, we miss some truly artistic and inspiring writing.



For example, Paul opens his letter to Philemon with these words, "(1)Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, (2) to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:
(3) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Not just "Dear Philemon, Apphia and Archippus..."



Wouldn't you love to receive a letter that opens with "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"? Most of Paul's letters open with those words. In Romans 1, that phrase is prefaced with "(7) To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints" How great is that? He starts right off by reminding them that God loves them and has called them for a purpose. Then there's 1 Corinthians 1, which addresses the recipients with the words "(2) To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours", reminding us of our brotherhood in Christ with "all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ", not just the particular church that we happen to attend on Sunday mornings. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul follows the "Grace and Peace" greeting with "(4)who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (5) to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Sometimes we all need a little reminder of who we serve and why. These beautiful openings are often followed by expressions of thankfulness for all those to whom the letters are addressed and specific reasons why Paul is thankful for those people. Another great letter writing example to follow!



His closings are every bit as eloquent as his greetings. For example, 2 Corinthians 13:14 "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." and Ephesians 6:24 "Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love"

But I think what strikes me the most about Paul's letters is the love expressed throughout every letter. Whether he's scolding, praising, pleading, admonishing or handing out gold stars and smiley faces, Paul's love for the churches he wrote to is clearly evident. From beginning to end, his letters just exude the love and concern that he felt for all of the believers, everywhere. Not bad for a guy who had previously been dedicated to rounding up the faithful and tossing them into prison! Why the change of heart? Two words...Jesus Christ. The love and compassion that Paul felt for the churches he helped to establish were gifts from God. There are many people in this world that we will find "unlovable", but through Jesus we can show them love. If concentration camp survivor Corrie ten Boom could, through Him, find the courage, strength and forgiveness to shake the hand of a former Nazi prison guard, at whose hands she had personally suffered...we, too, can allow Him to show love through us to those we find unlovable.

I didn't set out today to present a sermon and, having no experience at such endeavors, I will not pretend to be capable of doing so! But I have been enjoying reading through Paul's letters lately and wanted to share my thoughts on what impressed me about them...even if no one ever reads this post, I've enjoyed putting my impressions down in type. And to anyone who does read this post, I sincerely hope that you, too ,will find inspiration in Paul's letters!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.