Last Words: Joy, Maturity, Encourage, Harmony, Peace and Love

 Prayer – Lord, above all I find that the most important things is being filled with Your love—which brings joy to life. Even when things aren’t going well a person can have joy in their life—by the grace of God. When I have joy, I also find peace and contentment that allows me to encourage others. Thank You, Lord, for Your love and the fellowship that we share.

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. ... May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:11, 14

 

Meditate. Consider how you can live in harmony and peace with others.

 

The strength of encouragement for and from others results in harmony—the blending together of our thoughts and lives—and give us the peace of the Lord, just like in this song.  

Peace, peace, wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above!
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love!

Lyrics from the song “Wonderful Peace” written by Warren D Cornell and William G. Cooper in 1889, now in public domain, describes the peace we can all feel because of the love of God. It is like God Himself blows a gentle breeze down on us—giving us a quiet calmness in a cloud of pure tranquility. If we are seeking to love others—and live in harmony with them—it can be attained through the wisdom that Paul gives us in his second letter to the church at Corinth. Be joyful. Grow to maturity. These were not the very last words that Paul ever spoke…just his last words in this letter—his last letter to the Corinthians.

 

Morning light on the Columbia River
Blue Bridge - Pas
Cross over the bridge into Fellowship with God

Good advice. Can we take it to heart?  Can we… Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. I think these are really only attainable through the grace…the unmerited favor…of God. Joy happens sometimes when we least expect it. To become “mature” takes time and commitment…giving up childish selfish ways and seeking to please God in all that we think, say, and do. Encouraging others—goes back to Jesus’ words that we should treat others the way we want to be treated (See Matthew 7:2). If we long for others to encourage us, then we need to encourage others. That in itself can come as a gift of the Spirit…or through the undeserved kindness of God. We can intentionally inspire or cheer up others, but when it is done in love and sincerity it will go forth like a ripple in a lake touching others in a wider and wider circle. Good stuff bringing peace. These may have been Paul’s last words…but as you rise in the morning may they be your first words as you cross a bridge into fellowship with the Lord God Himself. Joy and Peace be yours.

Verse of Salvation ~ And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. 1 John 5:20

 

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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