2 Corinthians 13:11-14

                                                             2 Corinthians 13:11-14

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.  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

There is a principle throughout the Scriptures that tell us that our actions and attitudes towards one another, are actually the same as those we have towards God.  We cannot treat one another poorly while at the same time claim to be right in our relationship with God.  The conflicts we have with one another are not only horizontal in nature.  In reality, they are vertical conflicts between us and God long before our interpersonal problems begin.  However, if we love and serve one another, Paul describes two benefits we can experience.

THE LOVE AND PEACE OF GOD: The goal of every conflict or church discipline issue should be complete restoration.  This was Paul’s hope and the reason he was working so hard to bring about this change in the life of the church.  One of the biggest contributors to restoration is close, godly relationships.  Paul urges the church to comfort and agree with one another in an effort to build an intimacy in the body of the church with the goal that they would live in peace with one another.  The result of a life focused on investing in unity through restoration, comfort, agreement, and peace with one another is experiencing the presence of the love and peace of God.  When our lives are marked by hatred and conflict, the love and peace of God will be illusive in our midst. 

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: The grace of God, the love of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are experienced as a result of our greetings towards one another.  It seems strange for us to think that greeting one another with a holy kiss with have any correlation to these spiritual blessings.  Greetings are certainly a cultural consideration.  Kissing one another as a form of greeting may not be appropriate in every culture.  However, there is always something that is considered to be an expression of warm greeting in every culture.  This could be a hug or warm hand shake, or even a pat on the back or high five.  The mode of greeting is not nearly as important as the mood behind the greeting.  As believers we are to be so close and loving with one another that these greetings just naturally flow from our hearts.

APPLICATION:  If the love and peace of God is something that seems distant to us, seek to draw near to others in peace and agreement.  Be a source of comfort to those who are hurting and seek to restore those who have been rebellious.  Love the believers around us to such an extent that warm and appropriate greetings naturally flow from us.

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