Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. – 2 Corinthians 13:11
In this one verse there are five commands for us to follow. At first, the command to rejoice doesn’t seem to go with the others (strive for restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace). But when we think about it, the charge to rejoice goes hand in hand with the others. God has brought us into a family, a people unto himself. This family is made up of people from all different walks of life and backgrounds. This family is one where forgiveness reigns, where relationships are mended, where we are encouraged in the faith, where we have a shared vision of mission and purpose, and where we come together in peace.
The one who allows all of that to happen is our Good King Jesus. It is because Jesus has made us a people for his own possession that we have reason to rejoice. I pray that as we gather this week we would see what God has done. We would look to our brothers and sisters all around us and join in with them in singing the songs of the redeemed. That we would rejoice in Jesus, rejoice in the family he has placed us in, and strive to live in unity and peace with our brothers and sisters.
Redeemer, I rejoice in the Lord for many reasons, and one of the main ones is you. What a gift God has given us in each other. Don’t take that for granted. Take full advantage of the place he has put you in to learn and grow and be discipled and prayed over. This is a gift, but with every gift, we have to interact with it or it just collects dust.
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