Greetings in Christ

Paul's letter to the Colossians ends with greetings to members of the church in Colossae, as is typical for his letters.  Many of us, when reading Colossians (and Paul's other letters) tend not to pay too much attention to these greetings; compared to Paul's teachings in the main body of the letter, a list of names doesn't seem all that important or all that interesting.

However, Paul had two good reasons to end his letter to the Colossians with these greetings:

1. They gave Paul a connection to the people in the church of Colossae, who he had not had an opportunity to visit due to his imprisonment; Paul was establishing a relationship with the Colossians.
2. On a deeper level, Paul was tying his teachings together with the lives and relationships of the Colossians.  Paul's teachings were not just grand-sounding theories about being in a follower of Jesus Christ.  Instead, they were as real as the people to whom Paul sent his greetings--people who were living out their discipleship, and people who were in relationship with the Colossians as brothers and sisters in Christ.

In short, Paul's greetings were a reminder to the Colossians that they were bound together in Jesus Christ.  We, too, are bound together in Jesus Christ.

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