Tuesday 22 January 2008

Greet one another

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.” - Romans 16v16

Epaenetus, Andronicus and Junia, Amplias, Urbanus, Stachys, Apelles, Aristobulus, Herodion. Who are these people? Hardly headline names are they? I doubt there has ever been a biography written about any of them. They certainly don’t have the impact of Peter. James, and John. Yet these, and several others are all mentioned by Paul in his letter to Rome.

Who were these people and the rest in the list? They were Paul’s beloved. They were friends, so-workers, fellow prisoners, people saved under his ministry, people who were like brothers and sisters, one who was like a mother. In other words they were just every day people.

Paul thought it important enough to share greetings with each of them. Friends were important to Paul. As believers we need all the encouragement that we can get from each other. Paul didn’t have telephone, instant messaging, or email. Communication was nearly as easy then as it is today, and yet we know from these verse how important it was too Paul.

Doesn’t it seem clear that we should place a high priority on greeting the Epaenetus’s, Andronicus’s, and Junias in our own lives?

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