Addressing The Elect Lady

I was just thinking as I was reading 2 John again and again how love treats people with such respect and honor. People could say it is a lost art of a civilized culture but it is not lost. It can be picked up at anytime by anyone.

"The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love." - 2 John 1:1-3 ESV

John uses a title. The apostle of love uses a title. I know there are some who don't like titles. Our culture has become progressively casual and some people have been hurt by people who wield titles like knifes to cut other people's self images down to size... but here is the Apostle using one.

He might have used it to obscure his identity so that only this lady and the believers there could know it was him. There were likely many Johns around and he was now an old Apostle so the elder could have been some inside joke that John had with this person and the others who would read his correspondences. Still.

He calls the recipient of the letter 'the elect lady' which also could have been an inside reference bestowing a great honor on a humble but very valued person.

John obscured his identity while revealing himself and magnified her identity all in the very first line of his letter. It is no wonder that this little letter was chosen as canon. It shines of love, honor, respect, grace and mercy. It adds very little that is new to our understanding but there is no doubt that it is God speaking through a man to every elect lady. Every woman who has believed has that title not just this one. Every woman born of God is loved by those who know the truth. No elect lady is ever alone. She is known and exalted in standing.

I call people by their titles and if they insist I call them by their first name then I call them by their title or rank and then add their first name. You may see this as the exaltation of a man or even disrespecting their wishes but I see it as the obscuring of a man and a kind declaration that says, 'You and I are going to have a doctrinal rapport. We have something good and valuable between us. God Is here and I am not now nor ever going to be familiar with you. This is no personality-fest.' I may not give my title to them. I may just let them find out from someone else. Like everything else I want to be led. Even though I am 'formal' with people I don't want to insist they be formal with me. This is my conviction based on edification in these United States of America. I might do something else somewhere else but this is how I combat the air here and now.

Do you think this elect lady was eager to hear what else the Apostle said after this loving generous introduction? I do. If John had started the correspondence with the pressing issues and forgone the greeting would it have been the same?

Grace takes dusty people and downright dirty people and exalts them in brightness as mercy erases the evidence of grime. Declaring to some one that that they are more than just the name their parents gave them reflects a deep truth. God has made us to be more than what we were born with. Our end will be better than our beginning just because we got to know Him.

"To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you." - 1 Peter 1:1b-2 ESV

Can we start and end with love and respect? I want to. It is my desire that everyone I speak to today would have more after our conversation than they did before we spoke. Or if not more than they would realize what they already do have. People who know the King may be dispersed in the world but they are still the chosen of God.

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Learning To Like Greetings

I like greetings... 'Hello, Good to see you!... a wave... I not only like them because they are pleasurable. I like them on purpose.

"Greet one another with a holy kiss." - 2 Corinthians 13:12 ESV

Many years ago in Bible college I was out with a few friends an outreach and I think we were talking about food and one of them remarked, 'I tried that but I can't like that.' It showed something to me about that person. They tried the thing, whatever it was, and wanted to give it a chance... they even tried to like it... but just didn't.

Back to greetings... There is just something about them. Some people greet others when they first see them that day and then that is it. They don't even look at the other person or acknowledge them again until something is needed. This can be the case with distant relationships or with very established ones where 'words are not needed.'

Different cultures value greetings differently. Each family does also. In part this can be a learned behavior or a tendency because of a genetic make up... both nature and nurture contribute something to form these patterns.

There was a point in time when I saw the value of the genuine greeting. It makes people feel special... important... it dispels familiarity... for a moment (or a few seconds) a person has the full attention of another person. Each greeting can be like putting spare change in a jar because recognition is at the heart of relationships.

Like anything the whole thing can be turned on it's head. People get mad if you don't greet them or people can give you the 'fish hand' with a plastic smile and words right out of a can and the other person walks away glad that part is over and they can move on. Greetings can just be part on the 'sales pitch' and both people involved recognize the phoniness of the interaction.

I love watching two 'grace' people greet each other. Two free people who don't do what they do because they must or because it is expected. When they come together and exchange words, hand shakes or give a hug it is always fresh and real. They are like two kings or queens meeting one another. It is royal and has historical significance.

I have learned to like greeting people and I do it all day long. I often greet the same people again and again without an expectation of response. It isn't that I greet them like an amnesiac who acts like they are seeing the person for the first time all day long but it is a greeting or an acknowledgement of some kind.

It's a little thing but this kind of regular exchange leaves the channels of communications open. People know they have value and they know that they can approach 'the greeter' to talk about deeper things or share what is on their heart in times of need.

It is also a great way to mortify self occupation.

If you live in Philadelphia it would be good if you like Philly Cheese Steaks. They are everywhere and of the highest quality. If you can't... well then you can't. If you live around people it would be good to love greetings. But the same thing goes.

Lastly, I like to greet God often during the day. He is always there but the same principle can be applied. Maybe the part of the reason God gave us sleep at night is so that He could get a greeting out of us in the morning. That's not a scripturally supported idea but it is possible. The greeting is a kind of prayer... it is a way of practicing His presence. Instead of a quick hello and there a long day ignoring Him until we need something it is a constantly renewed fellowship and communion in the Spirit of Grace.

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