Paul is bringing his whole letter to an end and he is ending with how the Church ought to interact and treat one another. I love this phrase from our reading this morning:
May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. v5
First, I gravitate toward the opening description of our God - dependably steady and warmly personal. Other translations do a better of job of indicating what God does with this endurance and encouragement, but I like what I read when I read the words dependably steady and warmly personal. Part of becoming mature in my relationship with God will involve me becoming more dependably steady and warmly personal. I like that.
This whole verse has a love God/love neighbor feel to it for me. One of my personal marks of maturity is my capacity to get along with others. I don't want to simply be a peacekeeper, but one that loves well just like Jesus did. I wonder if the Pharisees read these words and thought, "With friends like Jesus, who needs enemies?" His strongest words seemed to be reserved for them.
Getting along well with each other goes to the core of who we are. We are to be of the same attitude of mind (TNIV) toward one another. Our goal needs to be the same - we need to accepting one another and "welcoming one another to God's glory" no matter where we are on the maturity scale.
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