-Although Paul was told not to go to Jerusalem, he decided to go anyways to see James. Considering the problems that could have occurred due to their differences, I thought it was brave of Paul to do what he did. Although Paul represented the Gentiles and James represented the Jewish Christians they were able to praise God together. They welcomed each other with open arms and showed each other respect and kindness for the good works they were doing for the Lord.
I believe this passage challenged me to think about my openess to Christians outside of our church or my realm of friends. If I were James, would I have welcomed Paul with open arms considering our differences? How can we learn to put our differences behind and consider the more important issues that bring us all together?
Posted by Esther Kim
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1 comment:
this was an excellent reflection. the book of acts is replete with examples of the power of the gospel to break the dividing walls that hinder us from really being one in Christ.
in the end, it did not matter that the apostle paul evangelized to the gentiles or that james preached almost exclusively to the jews.
theirs was a living brotherhood and fellowship in Christ Jesus. i believe that each truly rejoiced in the other's triumphs and grieved when the other suffered hardships.
i think there is a deep longing in all of us for that kind of love and Christian fellowship and community.
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