Thursday, January 20, 2011

the presence of God

2 Corinthians 13:14
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen."

These are the closing words of Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth. This letter is filled with rebuke, strong persuasion and warning however Paul closes the letter with this powerful reminder of the nature of God; three in one.
It was the grace of Jesus Christ that empowered Him to give His life as a substitute and sacrifice for us (Rom 3:23-24). It was the love of God that compelled Him to give us His one and only Son (Jn. 3:16). It is the communion of the Holy Spirit, His oneness with the Father and Son, that enabled His indwelling within each believer (Jn. 17:20-23).
Not only are the grace of Jesus, the love of God and the communion of the Spirit the compelling forces that connect us to God, but they are also the results of such a connection. When we receive Jesus, we receive grace and become more graceful. When we receive the Son from the Father, we receive His love and become more loving. When we receive the Spirit's indwelling, we receive His fellowship and communion and become more united.
Consequently, those things which compelled God to connect with us should compel us to connect with one another in like fashion. Conversely, if we do not see grace and love and unity among us, can we claim to have truly encountered and accepted these things from the hand of God through the Son and empowered by the Spirit?

God - be fully present in me. Amen.

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