16:19 The churches
of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with
the church that is in their house. 20 All the brethren greet you. Greet
one another with a holy kiss. 21 The salutation with my own hand—Paul’s. 22 If
anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord,
come! 23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Some interesting facts to point out as Paul ends his letter.
He only writes the greeting at the end personally and dictates the rest. The
churches, many of them at least, meet in homes. Everyone apparently kissed each
other in greeting. It reminds me of an encounter at the mall between by dad and
my French teacher. English Canadians of British descent greet with a handshake.
French Canadians greet with a kiss on each cheek. I was at the mall with my dad
(a truly rare occurrence) and I saw my teacher so I took my dad over and
introduced him. He stuck his hand out to shake hers just as she leaned in to
kiss his cheeks and he punched her right in the stomach. Not hard but it was
funny enough that I still remember it three decades later. ;)
Now back to something a little more important. Paul wrote
"Anyone who doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ let him be accursed."
Sounds harsh. Mean even.
Before we get too judgemental let's consider the facts. This
letter is a private letter to the believers in Corinth, not a public service
announcement. What he is really addressing is the reality that there are some
in the church claiming to be His who do not love Him. He is addressing the
Judas' in the church. Is he pronouncing a curse on them? Absolutely not. He is
describing their reality. Did Jesus ever curse Judas? On the contrary He lived
him fully and equally with the other eleven right to the end. So complete was
His love that even after pointing out Judas as the betrayer with the words
"What you are doing, do quickly" they assumed He was sending Judas to
get something. They had no idea.
Sin is it's own curse. God never curses anyone. When this war
between good and evil is over every lost person from Satan on down to humans
will bow the knee and confess God did everything He could have done and more.
They will admit their rebellion was groundless and completely their doing.
Cursed by their own choices. Truly it is the worst curse to flirt with Jesus
and walk among His followers yet refuse to give your heart to Him.
Love wins. Let Him win you.
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