1 Timothy 1:1-2 NIV
"Hey, dude!" In years gone by one of my granddaughters would greet me like that. I would remind her that I am not a dude. Regardless, "Hey, dude!" was just another way of saying "good to see you." It is always good to see her, too.
Paul generally begins his letters with a blessing. I sometimes wonder how it would change us; how it would change the world if we would all greet one another with a blessing, with words, like Paul used: "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I often greet people I haven't seen in awhile with the words, "God's peace." The response is usually just a smile. But, sometimes I get a surprised look like "hey, we're not in church, where did that come from?"
The reality is that except for sharing the peace during worship many of us do not share God's peace or pray God's blessing upon others when we're outside of the "designated" times or places. In fact, I rarely hear anyone talk about Jesus even at the church, unless we're in a group that is designed to do just that. Not long ago, the discipleship group at Zion decided that we needed to try to become more intentional about trying to greet others in a way that would bless others; in a way that would remind them who it is that we worship. We get lots of smiles when we greet others, both inside and outside of the church, with "God's peace be with you."
We're seriously hoping it catches on.
God's Peace - Pr. J
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| Falls River, L'Anse, MI |
Paul generally begins his letters with a blessing. I sometimes wonder how it would change us; how it would change the world if we would all greet one another with a blessing, with words, like Paul used: "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I often greet people I haven't seen in awhile with the words, "God's peace." The response is usually just a smile. But, sometimes I get a surprised look like "hey, we're not in church, where did that come from?"
The reality is that except for sharing the peace during worship many of us do not share God's peace or pray God's blessing upon others when we're outside of the "designated" times or places. In fact, I rarely hear anyone talk about Jesus even at the church, unless we're in a group that is designed to do just that. Not long ago, the discipleship group at Zion decided that we needed to try to become more intentional about trying to greet others in a way that would bless others; in a way that would remind them who it is that we worship. We get lots of smiles when we greet others, both inside and outside of the church, with "God's peace be with you."
We're seriously hoping it catches on.
God's Peace - Pr. J
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