This is the seventh devotion that I have written for d365.org. d365 has been a favorite resource of mine for over ten years. It has been a privilege to write for them! Please visit the website for the full d365 experience.
PAUSE
Our God is one – unity.
Our God is three – diversity.
Our God is three in one – mystery.
LISTEN
2 Corinthians 13:11-13 (CEB)
Finally, brothers and sisters, good-bye. Put things in order, respond to my encouragement, be in harmony with each other, and live in peace—and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Say hello to each other with a holy kiss. All of God’s people say hello to you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
THINK
Saying goodbye is not always easy. It’s hard to find the right words. If you’ve moved a lot you might know the feeling well. Paul has just written a second letter to the Corinthians encouraging them and imploring them to live in community together based on the love and peace of God. Living in community is really hard! There are always those people you can’t stand, or those people you just don’t get. But in this goodbye from Paul, he reminds the Corinthians to live in harmony and peace with one another. You can write in your bibles, “Yes, even with that weirdo.” Paul uses his goodbye as another opportunity to focus on the community. They will remember his teachings and the life of Christ in the way they live. When they live in this way, they experience a unity beyond geography, space, and time. They experience the unity of the Trinity. In the Trinity, goodbyes are not final and unity is eternal.
PRAY
God who goes behind, before, and beside us, teach us to live in unity as you live in unity. Teach us to live in harmony as you live in harmony. Teach us to live in faith that you are with us always. Amen.
GO
Work for unity.
Engage diversity.
Welcome mystery.