1 Peter 5:14: Greet One Another With The Kiss Of Love. Peace To All Of You Who Are In Christ.

1 Peter 5:14

[14] Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

I have had the privilege of preaching the Gospel in various places. One such time, I preached in the Dominican Republic. In the church service there was considerable time spent with people shaking hands, greeting one another, hugging, even kissing. Many churches across the world have some sort of practice where they share God's love in this manner.

There was a moment when from the Pulpit they described why they greet one another so dramatically. It was because there was a day when one of their members died suddenly the day after being at church. They wanted to make sure that before any of their church members passed on to the next life, they were told by their brothers and sisters in Christ that they were blessed by God, and loved by his/her church family.

Peter says, "Greet one another with a kiss of charity." What a beautiful thing it is when people who belong to Christ show love to each other. We are reminded that Jesus himself said that the world around us would know that we belong to him because of our love for each other. The world around us desperately needs to see an example of real love. If we, as believers in Jesus Christ do not show them, how will they see love?

As Peter closes this verse, and is nearing the end of this letter, he says, "Peace to all of you who are in Christ." He wants them to know the peace that comes from Christ. He cannot mean peace as defined by the absence of any struggle. The church was being persecuted at that time, and even Peter himself was persecuted. Peter speaks of the peace of Christ that is with all of us, in the midst of persecution.

Before you stop reading this devotional, let me tell you, "God bless you. I love you." We do not know what tomorrow may bring. May you know God's peace. Peace, even in the midst of persecution.