We don’t normally like to think of ourselves as being meek. These days meekness is usually associated with someone who is weak and submissive. Someone who is timid and easily pushed around. Yet in the third Beatitude in his Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”.

The Beatitudes lay the foundation for Jesus’ Sermon recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7. An interesting feature about these eight beatitudes is that the first and last make the same promise. The first reads: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. And number eight says: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

To begin and end a series of statements with the same theme is called ‘an inclusion’. This means that everything between the first and last statements is included in the one theme – in this case, the kingdom of heaven. We are to think of Jesus’ Beatitudes as the standards of God’s kingdom. They’re not just descriptions of the attributes of different sets of people who are members of the kingdom – some are meek while others are merciful. Rather they capture features that the Lord expects of all his people.

Jesus expects his people to grasp the reality of their spiritual impoverishment: they are poor in spirit. His people mourn over their own broken relationship with God and mourn that humanity is tragically lost because it has rejected its Maker. And now thirdly, Jesus is describing another quality of his people – meekness.

So what does it mean to be meek?

Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 11:28-30 help us. There he says: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle – literally meek – and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

As the Gospel of Matthew unfolds we learn that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came amongst us, not with the trappings of royalty and privilege, but with self-deprecation and lowliness. He came, not to exercise unbridled or terrorizing power, but to honor God by serving men and women in their greatest need. He set aside his glory to rescue us.

Here we begin to learn the rich meaning of meekness – gentleness and humility in serving the best interests of others. Someone who is meek does not insist upon their rights. They think of others before themselves.

Consider for a moment the scene around Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus was naked, exposed to the idle curiosity of the crowd and the vulgar frivolity of the soldiers who were making a party of it. “If you are the king of the Jews,” they taunted, “save yourself.”

And yet the extraordinary thing is this. There’s no spirit of revenge. Jesus didn’t curse his tormentors. Instead, as Luke tells us, we hear a prayer: “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Now it’s also important to notice that the kind of meekness that Jesus is speaking about in the Beatitude is not that of the person who is a pushover. Meekness is not to be confused with being nice and easy-going. Meek and lowly as he was, Jesus could take a whip to greedy money-changers in the Temple. We mustn’t confuse meekness with weakness.

“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus says.

Is it not true that many of us who claim to be God’s people have forgotten this? We have stalled on the first two letters of the word meek – the letters, me, Me! At the personal level we are so often more concerned with justifying ourselves than building one another up in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. And is it not true that we are often more committed to giving our opinion about church or ministry matters than we are at reaching others with the good news of the gospel?

Back in 9^th century England, King Alfred, a professing Christian, was not only a capable military strategist but also a wise and visionary ruler. It seems that because he knew the Christ who had taught the Beatitudes, he worked for peaceful solutions even with the most ruthless of his enemies. As Arthur Bryant in The Story of England: Makers of the Realm comments: Alfred had the wisdom to realize that the sword, though powerful to defend, could settle nothing permanently, and that only the conquest of the heart could endure.

Following his defeat of the marauding Danes, Alfred made a peace treaty with Guthrum, the Viking King – a treaty which identified land in East Anglia for the Danish Vikings. Alfred’s meekness led to the Christian baptism of Guthrum and peace in the land.

“The meek shall inherit the earth” Jesus promises. He was quoting from Psalm 37. He was saying that only the truly meek will learn contentment. Their ego is not so inflated that they insist they deserve more. Indeed, because as God’s people they are learning from him, the meek understand that they are co-heirs in the inheritance with Jesus (Romans 8:16f).

Furthermore, Jesus is saying that the day will come when the meek will inherit the new heaven and the new earth. It will be a time when this Beatitude will literally be fulfilled. Throughout eternity God’s people will continually rejoice that this Beatitude is literally true. Indeed, they will be grateful that by the grace of God they learned to be meek during their life now.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” What is your response? Do you really want to be one of Jesus’ disciples, exemplifying in your life those qualities that were so evident in his — meekness and humility in serving the best interests of others?

© John G. Mason – September 30, 2020

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The world loves to laugh. Comedians will always have an audience. People don’t like kill-joys who ruin the party. Yet Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Mt 5:4). He doesn’t mean that God’s people are always to be gloomy or morose.

Still less is he saying they are to wallow in self-pity.

He has in mind the grief we experience when we become aware of the purity of God, and the reality of the dark side of our nature. Isaiah the prophet was keenly aware of this when he saw a vision of the glory of God in the temple. ‘Holy, holy, holy,’ the angels sang. He despaired: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips’ (6:5).

It is the cry of someone who, thinking they are good enough for God, discovers they are not. None of us is. Malcolm Muggeridge, a former editor of the British Punch magazine, wrote: ‘The depravity of men and women is at once the most unpopular of all dogmas, but the most empirically verifiable.’ Paul the Apostle writes: Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7:24)

The crie de couer of one of the criminals crucified with Jesus echoes the grief Jesus is talking about in his Beatitude. “Don’t you fear God?” the dying criminal said to his colleague. “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve….”  Turning to Jesus he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

This man was no saint, yet something about Jesus stirred hope within him. Perhaps it was the contrast between Jesus’ prayer of forgiveness for his tormentors, and the anger of his friend. He knew Jesus was innocent: “This man has done nothing wrong,” he said. “Today you will be with me in paradise,” Jesus promised (Luke 23:43).

There is another aspect of grief: Grief for the world’s sin. Are there not times when we are grieve over the injustices, the human trafficking, the looting and destruction that has accompanied the current protests? The influence of marxism with its anti-God philosophy in schools, universities and the media? Increasingly we see around us a world that has lost sight of the reality of God, and we weep.

Down through the ages God’s people have wept at the plight of men and women trapped in the darkness of their own ego. Calvin did. So too did George Whitfield and John Wesley, John Newton, William Wilberforce, and the Earl of Shaftesbury.

God’s people are realists. We understand that death is a reality to be faced. We know that sin is unspeakably ugly in the light of God’s purity. We also know that eternity exists and that we are all rushing towards it. We understand that God not only exists but has spoken, revealing the alternatives that will come to pass — life or death, pardon or condemnation, heaven or hell.

‘My followers,’ Jesus says, ‘mourn because of the sins and blasphemies of the nation; mourn because of the erosion of the very concept of truth. They mourn over the greed, the cynicism, the lack of compassion evident everywhere. They even mourn that there are so few who mourn’.

Where then is there comfort in this troubled world? “Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus says, “for they shall be comforted.”

In grieving over our own sin, we are comforted with the knowledge of Jesus’ pardon and absolution when we turn to him with an honest and repentant heart. Paul the Apostle tells us in his Letter to the Colossians (2:13f), that the charges which stand against us have been nailed to the cross of Christ. The future tense, …shall be comforted that Jesus promises, stands behind Paul’s words. The comfort we long for from God could only happen once his perfect sacrifice had been made. The cross of Christ holds out to us a true comfort and joy, because through Christ we now have peace with God.

John Newton, who wrote the hymn, Amazing Grace, said: I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I hope to be – but by the grace of God I am not what I was.

And there is more. Insofar that we mourn the lost-ness of people around us, there is the comfort that comes when they respond to God’s gospel. In Colossians 1:5-6 Paul writes that the gospel, the word of the truth, has come to you,… In the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing. Too often we don’t experience this aspect of God’s comfort today because, silenced by or fearful of the voices around us, we have ceased to promote God’s good news.

Which brings us to another layer of comfort: the comfort that history is moving to an end point. A day will come when Christ will be revealed in all his might, majesty, dominion and power. Our own relationship with God, now hidden in Christ, will be revealed in all its glory.

Before you go to bed this evening why not read Jesus’ words afresh: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”. You may want to kneel beside your bed and open your heart to God. As you pour out your heart to him, ask him for his full and free forgiveness. Pray also for your family, friends, colleagues and the nation.

When we put our lives in the hands of the Lord Jesus his promise of comfort rings true. His plan is to turn this troubled world, this vale of tears, into a dawn of lasting comfort and joy. His death has made it possible. His resurrection assures us of it.

© John G. Mason – www.anglicanconnection.com

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Happiness is something we long for. Yet happiness is elusive and, at best, momentary. Where then can we find the riches of a lasting experience that satisfies the depths of our soul?

Today we turn to the first of Jesus’ Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

Blessed. Some translations use ‘happy’ instead of blessed, but happy is subjective, a poor substitute for the word blessed that Jesus uses. The blessed will generally be profoundly happy, but blessedness is not simply happiness. To be blessed means to be approved, or to find approval. When Jesus says, blessed, he is speaking of the people who have God’s approval.

This is profound. If God is at the heart of the universe, there can be no higher blessing than to be approved by him. Jesus’ words here challenge us to ask, ‘Whose blessing do I want more: the blessing or approval of people around me, or God’s?’

Now the blessing, or approval of family and friends, Facebook or Instagram followers isn’t wrong in itself. It is just that Jesus wants us to see that God’s blessing is infinite in value. If this is our desire, then his beatitudes speak to us very personally and very deeply.

In the opening segment of his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7), Jesus identifies eight blessings. They are not eight top suggestions, nor are they characteristics of eight different types of people. So searching of our character are these beatitudes, that they reveal that none of us is capable of living up to them in order to get into heaven. They are Jesus’ expectations of all who turn to him.

Poverty of spirit is not financial destitution or material poverty – none of the disciples were materially destitute. We can forget that while men like Peter or Matthew weren’t necessarily millionaires, they certainly weren’t materially impoverished. Simon Peter ran a fishing business with his brother and other partners. Matthew had sufficient funds to host a large dinner party.

But what they both realized was that they had a need only Jesus could satisfy. When confronted with Jesus’ power and purity, Simon Peter knew that a deep gulf existed between himself and Jesus. ‘Depart from me Lord’, he said, ‘for I am a sinner.’ For his part Matthew saw that there was more to life than making money. Called to follow Jesus he handed over the tax office to others, and turned to Jesus.

It is to people like this that Jesus says, Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

The English word ‘poor’ is used to translate a number of Old Testament words. One word we find in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, refers to the materially hard up (Proverbs 19:1, 7, 22). Another word refers people who are powerless (Job 20:19, Psalm 82:3f). Other words speak of the poor as the needy (Psalm 140:12), and the socially under-privileged or oppressed (Isaiah 3:14f).

Most importantly, in the pages of the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and Isaiah the poor turn to God for help. Knowing the reality of their spiritual need, they turn to God, whose nature is always to have mercy.

Poor is often found as a metaphor for the ‘outsider’. To be poor in spirit is to know that we are outsiders as far as God is concerned.

The eight Beatitudes or Blessings form an introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. Any doubts we might have about the poverty of our relationship with God are exposed as Jesus moves on to explain the deeper meaning of God’s commandments – to hate someone is to commit murder; to lust after someone to whom you are not married is to commit adultery.

Like a laser light, Jesus’ Sermon reveals everything about us – not just our actions, but our very thoughts and words. His Sermon removes our self-delusions and awaken within us a genuine poverty of spirit.

To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy. It is exemplified by the guilty publican in the story Jesus told. The publican prayed from a corner in the Temple, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Poverty of spirit is being honest with God about ourselves. It’s the admission of our impotence without God’s work of salvation in our lives.

The kingdom of heaven. Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven in the same way that Mark and Luke speak of the kingdom of God. Jewish man that he was, Matthew was reluctant to use the word, God. It was too holy, too majestic.

Kingdom of God speaks of God’s great power and glory and his rightful and good rule over his creation. It is a majestic theme – one that inspires the very best within us, for it opens up an eternity of grand and beautiful possibilities for us.

Where is a rich and lasting blessing to be found – one that reaches the depths of our soul? It is to be found in a heartfelt experience of turning to God and knowing him. We need to come to him and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy, emptying ourselves of self-righteousness, moral self-esteem, and personal pride. It is only when we are empty of these things, that Jesus will fill us with new life and assure us of God’s approval.

Truly God’s blessing and his kingdom belong to the poor in spirit.

© John G. Mason

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Heraclitus the 5th century BC Greek philosopher wrote: Unless you expect the unexpected you will never find truth, for it is hard to discover and hard to attain. He was commenting on the creative thinking required to understand the nature and meaning of life. His wise words make a great deal of sense: many discoveries within science are unexpected; many of our experiences in life are unexpected.

Twelve months ago no one predicted the rise of a novel coronavirus that would impact the lives and livelihoods of millions around the world. Covid-19 has shown us that we are not in control of life and that we should expect the unexpected. Indeed, the discerning will ask, ‘Is there more to life?’

So, how should we respond? Come with me to Colossians 4:2. Paul the Apostle writes: Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should.

Prayer. The French philosopher, Blaise Pascal observed: God instituted prayer in order to allow his creatures the dignity of causality. God has made the universe in such a way that we can make an impact with our prayers – within certain limits of course. It’s an amazing thought. God has given himself the discretion to act within his overall plan according to our prayers.

Prayer is not just a means of keeping the lines of communication with God open. God listens to our prayers and answers them in ways that are for our good. Prayer of itself is not powerful. Prayer is only powerful because we are addressing the all-powerful God.

This is why Paul urged the Colossians to be steadfast in prayer. He knew, for example, that effective outreach begins with persevering prayer. To devote ourselves to prayer is to bring our requests to God in much the same way that the energetic widow of Jesus’ parable did. In this parable in Luke 18, the widow gave her local magistrate no rest until her cause was settled.

The first Christians were committed and enthusiastic in their prayer. Humanly speaking it is one of the reasons for their terrific success in spreading God’s good news. Perhaps Paul’s Colossian readers had become apathetic. That’s why he insists, Continue steadfastly in prayer… ‘Never give up praying’, he is saying. ‘Your prayers may not be answered immediately. But never give up.’ Indeed, the Bible tells us it is God’s great passion that people turn to him. This is a prayer we can be assured God will answer.

Notice also the emphasis on thanksgiving. True prayer can’t exist without heartfelt thanks, any more than thanksgiving can exist without prayer. They feed and fuel each other.

In this context Paul wanted the Colossians to pray, not that the doors of his prison might open, but that opportunities might open for him to declare the mystery of Christ – even while he was in prison. Yet how often do we pray that God will open up doors of gospel opportunity for us?

The way we live. But there is more. Consider verses 5 and 6: Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the most of the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

Paul has two pieces of advice for the Colossians, and for us – about life-style and speech.

We are all obliged to act wisely and graciously towards people we live and work with. We are to live out the new resurrection life that Paul has been writing about in chapter 3, with wisdom and integrity.

We are also to cultivate conversations that are gracious and yet seasoned with salt. We are not to be bland, insipid, and gossipy, in our conversations, but rather we are to start doing the unexpected, pushing back against the culture, looking for, and even creating opportunities to raise questions about the meaning of life. We can do this over coffee or a meal, or online. As we do this, we need to be prepared to answer people’s questions.

With people you know you might ask: ‘How are you really doing in these troubled times?’ You might also consider ways you can bring a comment from a book such as John Lennox’s very readable, Where is God in a Coronavirus World? Remember, our aim is to explore ways to introduce the notion that there is more to life than this material world.

You might look for an opportunity to ask: ‘Do you think there’s anything beyond this life?’ ‘Friends of mine feel we only have one life and we should make the most of it. What do you think?’ If the response is that there’s no future beyond the grave, you could ask: ‘Are you sure about that?’ You could also add: ‘For me the Christian idea of resurrection has a lot going for it’.

If their response is that there’s a future beyond the grave, you might ask: ‘Can we be sure of this?’ It’s worth remembering that Jesus’ resurrection is foundational for Christianity. Every sermon recorded in the Acts of the Apostles refers to it.

Furthermore, be prepared to tell your own story of faith in no more than three minutes. Begin with a brief account of your life and then focus on two or three unexpected events that led you to faith in Christ. Because it’s your story, it’s important.

And don’t forget, it’s worth pointing enquirers to one or two introductory courses: ‘Christianity Explored’ and ‘Word One-to-One’ are very good.

Above all, continue steadfastly in prayer – perhaps for five people you know – that the Lord will provide unexpected opportunities for you to introduce them to the Lord Jesus Christ, whose love and compassion are far greater than we ever dreamed.

© John G. Mason

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Most of us don’t find it hard to imagine a better world, but the question is, ‘How do we get there?’ History is littered with the theories and experiences of political and economic ideas. But history shows that whatever the system, there is still fraud, injustice, poverty, pillaging, exploitation, sexual harassment, violence and war. The systems may change, the faces will come and go, but the scene remains the same. How can we point the world to a better way?

The heart of the Christian message includes the idea of a new universe that has come into existence and which will continue forever. Jesus’ death has secured this. His resurrection assures us of it. In Colossians 1:13, we read: God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…’.

And in Colossians 3:1ff we read: If you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts where Christ is, set your minds on heavenly things… Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature,…   Paul is saying, ‘Let the light of this resurrection state fall on everything that you say and do.’

New Lifestyle. When we truly turn to Jesus Christ our relationship with God changes and, Paul tells us, our relationships with one another are also to change. We won’t achieve this perfectly, because we all still live in the present world. We will disappoint one another; we won’t always be as patient as we should. We won’t always love one another or forgive one another, but we must work at it. When we make these qualities our goal the world will see, and wonder. For when we take on the new lifestyle as God’s people, we will become a signpost in the wider community, pointing others to the realm of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 3:18 through 4:1, Paul identifies new ways of living within our closest relationships – marriage and family life, and in the workplace. He speaks of wives submitting to their husbands and husbands loving their wives; of children obeying their parents and parents not provoking their children; and slaves obeying their masters and masters treating their slaves justly and fairly. There is a counter-cultural asymmetry about the principles Paul identifies.

Now, we need to understand that Paul is not speaking about a hierarchy in relationships. All men and women, from every race and nation, as well as the unborn, are equal before God. We are all created in God’s image. Paul makes this clear in 3:10: Here there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

In the section we are looking at today, Paul is setting out how God’s people, as equals, are to function in their relationships. A good starting point for understanding his words is the Godhead.

God – Three in One. The Apostle John in his Gospel reveals that God exists in Trinity: one God in three persons. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are equally divine but are eternally distinct persons. There is no hierarchy within the Godhead yet there is an order in which they function. So, the Son of God freely chose to do the Father’s will in taking on human form and serving us by dying the death we deserve (Philippians 2:5-11).

Partners in a marriage – a man and a woman – share an equal status yet are distinct persons. In this partnership there is an intimate relationship of equals, with distinct responsibilities.

Women who have turned to Christ are called upon to recognize and honor their husband’s God-given responsibility to provide leadership in godly love. Paul is certainly not saying that wives are to submit to abuse or be forced to live contrary to the Lord.

Furthermore, Paul does not say to husbands, ‘You rule’. Rather, he says, husbands are to love their wives, honoring and respecting them for who they are under God. One responsibility husbands often overlook is ensuring that the Bible is read in the home.

Relationships between parents and children are also important (as we see in 3:20). Children are to recognise the God-given authority of their parents. Paul is saying that this will only happen when parents do not tease and exasperate their children or give way to their every whim. Rather, parents need to treat their children with love and care and commitment, respecting their individuality, but curbing their attempts to reject authority.

Paul also sets out principles for the workplace. In today’s world responsibility in relationships between employers and employees are an essential part of our living under God (3:22-4:1). For God’s people the balance of selfless and responsible attitudes and actions should be self-evident. Employees are to act responsibly, respectfully and honestly toward their employers. Employers are to be totally fair to their employees, not exploiting or abusing them.

It is this sense of responsibility and accountability to people around us that is one of the gifts of God’s people to the world. We may feel politically powerless, but we must never think we have nothing to contribute to the world. The restraint, the accountability that we show in our relationships, our households, and in our workplaces, demonstrate that we have a Lord to whom we are accountable – and the world will notice the difference.

When our lives are truly being transformed by the Spirit of God, people will see it and, under God, be drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

© John G. Mason

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Two thousand years ago the angels sang at Jesus’ birth, “and on earth, peace …”  But the world hasn’t got any better. Indeed, while peace is something we all long for, it is one thing the world does not have. So, where is the fulfilment of the angelic promise?

Before we charge the angels with false advertising, we need to read the full text of their song: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, among those whom he favors” (Luke 2:14). The angels were making a promise to a specific group – the people of God.

Over these last weeks we have been trekking through the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians. Today we come to his words in chapter 3:15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

Broken relationships. Too often we ignore our deepest human problem – we are all self-focussed. Our relationships with God and with one another are broken. Jesus made it clear that the solution to the human condition, would require his death, for he would die the death we all deserve. It would be Jesus’ divine, costly work alone that could heal our relationship with God. What is more, once our relationship with God was restored, there would also be healing of the broken relationships across social and cultural, racial and national divides amongst his people. No wonder the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, ‘shalom’, ‘peace’.

Indeed, in Colossians 3:11 we read: … there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all and in all. And in the following section, Paul goes on to write of the inner attitudes that we are to adopt as we relate to others. This includes ‘letting the peace of Christ rule our hearts’.

Referee. The context helps us to understand Paul’s meaning here when he speaks of peace. He is speaking about the inner peace that the Lord Jesus gives to his people, and also the attitude of peace that should now rule our minds and wills as we relate to others. In the flow of Paul’s writing about forgiving one another and loving one another, the peace of Christ is to be the referee. So when bitterness and love battle within us the peace of Christ is to win the day.

Now this doesn’t come easily, especially when we’ve been hurt by others. When we are dealing with injury and conflict, it’s hard to forgive and so make peace. Nevertheless, Paul is saying that God’s people are to be at the forefront of finding solutions to resolve tension and conflict. As Jesus himself said, we are to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).

Bible. Furthermore, we need to know Christ, so that we will have his wisdom to bring into our conversations. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, Paul writes; Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16).

Keeping the peace doesn’t mean simply sweeping our differences under the carpet, let alone putting on an artificial smile. In the 1992 Australian film, ‘Strictly Ballroom’, Scott, the central character refuses to dance the traditional ballroom steps. His mother is furious. ‘Put on a happy face’, she was told. But hiding our feelings isn’t the way to true peace. We need to find a way to express our feelings.

Furthermore, we are not at liberty to give one another a piece of our mind! Rather, we must bring our minds under the direction of the Lord’s mind, and the only way we can do this, is by coming to the Bible together.

And notice, we are to do this with all wisdom. Our coming to the Bible together is not to be an uninformed pooling of ignorance. We must work together at finding what the Bible means, rather than reading into it what we want it to mean. It’s a ministry all of us are to aim at. There is no place amongst God’s people for strong-willed, aggressive individuals insisting on their way. That creates division.

Song. And Paul continues: … with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. We often overlook Paul’s point here, that as we praise God, we are also instructing and exhorting one another. It’s one of the reasons our songs when we meet should be strong on Bible, and not insipid and repetitive. Even in our world of Covid restrictions, we can still reflect on the words. Singing Bible-based songs is an important way to build relationships.

And, there is something else. Gratitude to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, Paul writes, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).

Nothing brings about tension and division more than a discontented spirit. And a discontented spirit is an ungrateful spirit. To be thankful is to accept our situation in the loving providence of God. A thankful heart trusts God in every situation, and thankful people are always happy people.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts …, for it is to this that you were called… We begin to see that the promise of the angels’ song at Jesus’ birth was not fake news. Jesus has not only opened up the path to peace in our relationship with God, but also with one another as God’s people. Furthermore, we are now to let this peace of Christ within us become the referee or umpire in our relationships with others.

Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus says, “for they will be called the children of God”.

© John G. Mason

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