City Life Starter

19 The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.

21 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL.

By Aisha Darwesh

Today’s verses may seem like a formality and something you might skip over in your daily Bible reading, but upon closer review these scriptures are packed with meaning. They point out friendship, fellowship, community, and the common bond we share as Christian brothers and sisters, among other things.

Paul mentions Aquila and Priscilla, who first appear in the book of Acts when Paul left Athens and came to Corinth. Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers just as Paul was (Acts 18:1-3). Aquila and Priscilla grew to be strong believers and even mentored Apollos, a strong speaker, and they eventually opened their home to church gatherings.

Verse 21 depicts that Paul himself is greeting the Corinthians in his own handwriting. Can you sense the personalized touches in this letter? I love that Paul’s style of writing letters give the greetings at the very end. That almost gives you the sense that his communication with the Corinthians isn’t over, but it’s just beginning. Sending such warm greetings at the close of a difficult letter to write the Corinthian church is essentially Paul’s way of sealing everything he mentions in this chapter with love and hope.

Let’s remember for a second that the Corinthians were far from perfect. That’s part of the reason this series we’re going through is called “No Perfect People Allowed.” That’s also why we’ve been hearing testimonies about real live believers’ mistakes and pitfalls in life. Not that we are encouraging moral failures, not that we want to fail, but nobody has reached perfection yet. There is only one Perfect and He’s still working on us.

To recap, the Corinthian church were making all kinds of mistakes like forming factions, dishonoring the Lord’s supper, showing favoritism towards the rich upper class, committing sexual sin, not honoring others while exercising the spiritual gifts, and the list goes on. But what does Paul say at the very end? Is he writing them off? Does he say, “I’ve had it with you Corinthians, we’re through.”

Not in the least. He’s encouraging them and letting them know that all the believers are with them in spirit. This is Paul’s way of saying he’s not giving up on them and neither has God.

3. Application

In a way, any one of us today could probably identify with someone in the Corinthian church. That’s okay. That doesn’t mean you have to disqualify yourself from God’s great future for you.

One of the greatest comforts we have as believers is that we serve a God who already knows the end from the beginning. Think of it, God knew every mistake you’ll ever make, every single way you’ll ever miss the mark, and guess what? He still wants you anyway. God’s love is unfailing. Rest in that today.

Do you feel like isolating yourself from community because of something in your past, present, or even something you’re afraid you’ll do in the future? You don’t have to be afraid to be authentic. The church is (or at least should be) a safe place for you to be fully known and fully loved and accepted. Does that mean you can continue in sin? Emphatically not. I think these verses mean that no matter what you’ve done, God still cares about your relationship with Him, and He wants us to be in fellowship with each other.

My encouragement today to apply these verses today is: Don’t be afraid to be authentic. Instead of driving people away, being authentic about where you’re at will actually draw people closer in. By sticking together in God, we can help each other get to where we’re going.

4. Prayer

Father God, I thank You for giving me such an awesome community of believers in the faith. You have placed me right where I’m at for a reason. Thank You for not giving up on me. I am ready to go where You’re leading me. In Jesus Name, Amen.