As Peter the
apostle concluded his letter to the “scattered”
Christians, he shared concerning, “Silvanus”, “the
church at Babylon” and “Marcus” or “Mark”. He
desired for the Christians to know both “the church at Babylon”
and “Marcus” “saluted” or “greeted” them,
and in chapter five and verse fourteen of his letter, Peter told the
church to “greet” one another where we read:
Greet one
another with a kiss of charity.
Peace be
with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
The
verse begins, “Greet one another with
a kiss of charity.” Peter
began with the word, “Greet”
which means “to draw to one's self, salute, bid welcome, wish well
to and receive joyfully” “one
another”
which refers to the “scattered”
Christians
“with a kiss”
or “the kiss with which, as a sign of
fraternal affection by which Christians were accustomed to welcome or
dismiss their companions in the faith”
“of charity”
which is the Greek word “agapē”
and means “affection, good will, love, benevolence and
unconditional brotherly love”. Peter's final desire for the
Christians was for them to simply “salute, wish well and receive
one another joyfully”.
The
verse goes on to say, “Peace be
with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.” Peter
ended his letter with the word, “Peace”
or “tranquility, exempt from rage, harmony, concord, security,
safety, prosperity and felicity” “be with
you all” which refers to “each, every,
any and to the total of the Christians” “that
are in Christ” which means “the anointed
One, the Messiah and the Son of God” “Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is Salvation””
and is “ the Savior of mankind and God incarnate”. “Amen”
which means “firm, verily, faithful, so it is, so be it and may it
be fulfilled”. Peter's final desire for the “scattered”
Christians was for “peace”
to be with all of them who believed in, trusted in and relied upon
Jesus Christ.
When
we think about Peter's words in this final verse of his letter, we
notice the care and concern he had for them, and the care he desired
they have for one another. The simplistic act of “greeting”
one another was important to Peter, and the “peace” of God
being upon them would help insure their unity. There is no better
place in life to be than “in Christ Jesus”, and those to
whom Peter “greeted” and cared for, instructed and desired
the “peace” of God to be upon them was a perfect example
of how we are to be towards one another. May the Lord Jesus through
His Holy Spirit help us to realize the importance of valuing one
another enough to “greet” one another, and may the “peace”
of God rest upon us as we do.
Next
time we return to the Old Testament and begin a study in the book of
“Joel”, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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