All the saints salute you. 2 Corinthians 13:13
More than 475 people showed up for our Sussex conference a few years ago. If you were privileged to be among them, you probably got to meet some wonderful folks, and to greet some dear friends. But it is doubtful that you had an opportunity to greet everybody who was there. Because I handed out the paper plates as people entered the dining area, I actually got to speak to everyone, and I thoroughly enjoyed the privilege. I even tried to engage the little children in conversation as they held up their trays to receive a plate. It was not only a privilege to speak with everybody, even for a few seconds, it was also an honour. We need to consider that honour as we desire obedience to today’s text.
Why should all the saints greet you? Are you more important than the other Christians around you? What do you have that makes it important that other Christians take notice of you and greet you warmly? What is there about you that makes every other Christian at a meeting make sure they speak with you before or after the meeting? There are two great reasons for everyone to greet you: you are a fellow saint, and you act like a fellow saint.
I learned something special while watching a science documentary about bees. Every bee in the hive has the same mother: the queen. But they have a variety of fathers. And each of the bees recognize and regard as special all of the other bees with the same father. Sound familiar?
We ought always to warmly greet every other fellow saint. We belong to the same family, and we have the same command to love one another and care for each other. We have the same interests, the same prospects, and the same goals. As a tiny minority in a sinful foreign land, we recognize and appreciate each other, and therefore greet each other warmly.
Other Christians will want to salute you to thank you for the kind acts you have done for them. They will want to thank you for your prayers on their behalf, for the extra effort you took to help them or a member of their family. They will want to greet you to share good news, or to tell you how well your recipe worked for them, or to pass on some information on a topic you recently discussed. Yes, if you act like a fellow saint, other saints will always be thrilled to see you and to greet you. Conversely, if they are not thrilled to see you or don’t greet you, there’s probably a reason.
The Gospelaires had a song that began, ‘If nobody loves you, create the demand’. If some, or any, of the saints don’t greet you, how much of it is your fault? -Jim MacIntosh