Actions speak louder than words … but words matter too.
Before we had email and telephones, letters were the best way to communicate over long distances. In Paul’s time, there was no post office, regular mail, stamps, card shops, or stationery stores—not even street signs or house numbers! Handwritten letters were special, treasured communications from long-separated friends and loved ones.
It was a risky thing to entrust a letter to a courier to carry it to the intended recipient. It could take months to reach its destination and months before a reply came back. But somehow, Paul’s letters to congregations around the Mediterranean found their way and endured long enough to reach us 2,000-plus years later. His words, penned all those years ago, provide us not only inspiration but also instructions to continue the mission of the church.
His letters connect us to the people who made the early church so impactful. These were real people. They had trials and tribulations. They were living in a world where survival was perilous and persecution by oppressive forces was everywhere. But the early church had a much bigger mission than mere survival. Paul was intent on instructing early Christians to: “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone” (Colossians 4:5-6).
In today’s language, we might say “lead with love.” Loving kindness and respect are much more attractive than approaching someone with an agenda or trying to convince them to believe a point of view. The kingdom of heaven doesn’t encompass anger or fear. It doesn’t divide people by any category or have a litmus test for worthiness, and it isn’t concerned about any human measure or status.
The people Paul wrote letters to and about—Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Jesus Justus, Epaphras, Doctor Luke, Demas, Nymphas, Archippus—are just like us. Paul understood his mission, and the mission of the church, was to demonstrate and communicate the inherent truth that God’s love is for everyone. Paul and the early church lived out that mission so that today we know God’s love is so great that he sent us Jesus Christ to ensure everyone’s inclusion into God’s eternal kingdom.
In today’s world of hyper-communication, every opinion is voiced on multiple platforms, and the issues of the day can easily take center stage over the mission God has for his people. I wonder sometimes if Paul were writing a letter to the church today, what would he say about living wisely among those who are not believers? What would it look like if we, as Christ-followers, were to make the most of every opportunity and practice Jesus’ command to “love one another, as I have loved you”? Would our online communication be evaluated as “gracious and attractive”? Would people we encounter feel valued and included? Would they see the love God has for them by the way we receive and welcome them?
Prayer:
God, I offer myself to you. Build with me, and do with me as you will.
Free me from the bondage of self, so I may better serve your will.
Remove my difficulties, so that my victory over them
may bear witness to those I seek to help to know of your power,
your love, and your way of life through Christ Jesus.
May I always do your will. Amen.