Christian greeting.
As we read this last paragraph of our Epistle, we are struck:
1. With the humanity of our holy religion. There is a natural tone about the ending of every one of Paul's letters; there is the naming of men, the greeting of friends, the talk about personal affairs. If the Bible were concerned only with systems, institutions, theories, doctrines, arguments, it would never be, as it surely is, the great heart book of the world. Its charm is its humanness. And it is so of Christianity because its Founder and its Theme, its Alpha and its Omega, is the Son of man.
2. With the mutual fellowship of the early Churches. Between the Christians at Rome and at Colossae, though the waters of the Mediterranean rolled between them, there was, as these greetings indicate, intimate and intelligent personal fellowship. Passing from these introductory considerations of the great principles to be found here, let us notice three things about Christian greetings.
I. TRUE CHRISTIAN GREETING RECKONS VERY LITTLE OF SOCIAL POSITION. Who would know, from the form of the greeting, how vastly different were the social positions of Epaphras the Colossian citizen, Luke the cultured Jewish physician, and Onesimus the runaway slave? It has been well said, "Men are not united to the Church of Christ by reason of similarity of calling, of knowledge, or of position; not as rich or poor, learned or ignorant, but as possessors of a common human nature, of common feelings, sorrows, joys, and hopes. Once within its pale, his riches drop from the rich man, and his poverty from the poor, and each beholds a brother soul."
II. TRUE CHRISTIAN GREETING RECOGNIZES FULLY THE INDIVIDUALISM OF MEN. There is here no dealing with the mere mass, the group; no speaking of all with the same tones of unctuous endearment as is common in some Churches today. No; each has a separate niche in the esteem and affection of the apostle. In the light of this greeting we see the Church is not a huge piece of mechanism, but a family of dissimilar though related souls.
III. TRUE CHRISTIAN GREETING HONOURS GREATLY CHRISTIAN SERVICE. The only letter of introduction to a Church Paul ever wrote is to commend not some wealthy or famous man, but a converted runaway slave. His epithets of praise are not those that describe rank or riches, or even culture, but usefulness. That he honours, and that the Church of Christ ought above all else to honour: come the day when it will. Amen.—U.R.T.