Paul’s directives for Christian living seem challenging at best and perhaps even impossible to fulfill. For Paul, love is the foundation of the Christian life, and all his admonitions emanate from a call for genuine love. But here he is not simply talking about the emotion expressed between individuals. He directs his instructions to the community with the hope that his entire list of strictures will build up the community by making clear the meaning of genuine love, the one essential of Christianity.
Paul’s words speak directly to John Wesley’s requirement of holy living for the people called Methodists. Wesley called on Methodists to demonstrate the love of God and neighbor by living a holy life both individually and in community as a testimony to their Christian identity. For the individual Chris- tian, Wesley’s “The Scripture Way of Salvation” begins with repentance and new birth and leads from justification through sanctification to Christian perfection. From the community, Wesley required social holiness that actively responded to the needs of the saints with peace and harmony within and beyond the community.
In this post-Christian era, the church, known more for its divisiveness than its love and so often remaining silent in the face of injustice, encounters a challenge. Paul’s words remind us that we are called as Christians to be the people of God who show genuine love through holy living and who live in peace and harmony as the beloved community. Only God’s presence and grace make living the Christian life possible. God’s grace alone enables us to live holy lives, individually and corporately. May we live in the light of God’s empowering presence.