Paul concludes his letter to the church in Rome in a way we might think of beginning a letter. Greetings are sent to all the people whom Paul has a connection with in the city of Rome and he offers a reminder of their work and connection. Before completely signing off Paul has one last piece of teaching to remind the church in Rome of. Beware of divisions.
It seems as though division in the church is not something new to our times. In fact much of Paul's writing addresses division in the church. Easily lost is the fact that all of the writing to the church at Corinth is about preserving the unity of the church. The warning of Paul here is to not be lead astray. To remember who Jesus is, and that Jesus is the center of the church. People may come along a say nice things about the church, or about individuals within the church. What matters is we remember who the church belongs to.
Right now things at Cortland UMC are going fairly well. There is always room for growth and improvement. Still there is much work of the Kingdom of God happening. This is an exciting time as well as a dangerous time. This is where we as humans could lose sight of who is in charge of the church. This is the time when our humanity can cause a division in the God called church. First we must be aware of that possibility. Second, we must fall on our knees before God and remember this whole thing called life is from, through and to God.
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