Aug 12, 2024
Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 16:10-24
Shakespeare wrote: "Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel." Solomon wrote: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" (Prov 27:6) and "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Prov 27:17). Our friends are crucial to the quality of our lives. With good friends we are helped immeasurably; without them we are profoundly diminished.
Most New Testament letters end with a 'greetings' section, like we find here in 1 Corinthians 16. Some of them are short and some are longer. These tend to be the kind of sections of the Bible that we have the tendency to pass over, if we read it at all. We usually do not pause to consider some implications rooted in the warm greetings.
In this last section of 1 Corinthians, Paul mentions seven people by name. It is significant to note the basis for the connection between the people listed in this chapter. The basis for their relationship is not personality or hobbies or economic status. The foundation of their relationship is their identity in Christ and their service for Him.
Let us learn the thrill of friendship and community in Christ, forged in the furnace of common labors … and even common suffering … in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. There is no richer life than that, this side of heaven.