Love fulfills the law's demands - Leawood - Church of the Resurrection

You know, Paul used his letters to churches in kind of the same way we use the internet these days. The technology isn't the same, of course, but he used the letters as a tool to extend his presence with the congregations in these cities.

His letters allowed him to preach, teach, admonish, and encourage the people he was shepherding, even though he wasn't with them in person. And, although we don't have them, it seems clear from reading many of his letters that this wasn't just a one-way communication, but that the people in those congregations were corresponding back with him, too.

Paul was present with these people, first in person as he helped build the community and then later from a distance using the tools and technology available to him. In many of these cities, he continued to see himself as a leader of their congregation – sometimes filling the role of a father figure for them – even when he was far away, imprisoned, or preoccupied.

I think Paul loved these people – loved them deeply. I think he longed to be with them in person – he says over and over in his letters how he hopes to visit soon. But when that physical presence wasn't possible, he understood that their connection, their relationship, could be maintained by staying in communication with one another, by having hard conversations about life and faith and hope.

He recognized that, no matter how much distance separated him from his congregations, they were embodied people living the light of Christ in communities of other embodied people who needed to see that light. It was that embodiedness and that connectedness to the mission of Christ that held them together.

Let's block ads! (Why?)