“This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.”
Jude 1:1-2 NLT
Jude cites three basic wishes for the church at large. The first is mercy, then peace, and lastly, love. These three things are interesting because they are not so much quantitative blessings as they are qualitative. They describe a healthy relationship rather than a physically bountiful one. In certain Christian circles, there is a push to quantify our blessings by our prosperity on earth. But this is not a desire for Jude. This aside, the qualitative aspect of the three things is intensely relational. Mercy requires a wronged party, peace requires a conflict and love requires an object. The desire for Christians is displayed as a relationship that is healthy and mutual in its benefit amongst those who walk with Christ. Jude views these qualities of relationship as a natural outworking of being called to Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. His prayer is that these qualities, not only be present, but abundant. In short, we can see that our faith is to be relational and about quality.
This post first appeared at JoshMcGary.com
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