I sometimes find Paul’s writings less appealing than other parts of scripture; he doesn’t hesitate to challenge or complain, and some of his admonishments are hard to grasp outside their ancient context. But then I come upon moments of tenderness that remind me of the urgent love that drives him from one place to another.

Today’s passage ends on one such note of tenderness: “We are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.” Even before they arrive, Paul and his companions anticipate a joyful meeting of brothers and sisters.

I realized not long ago how easily the phrase “brothers and sisters in Christ” can dwindle into cliché. But those we are given to love—those to whom we are sent—are “our people,” bound to us by ties deeper than blood, as cells in the same body, working together in ways we can never fully fathom toward God’s mysterious purposes.

I remember traveling to North Carolina to meet a sprawling clan of cousins I had heard of but never met. A wide, warm welcome greeted me just because I belonged to “Uncle Jack” or “Aunt Effie.” They loved me before they knew me. A place was prepared for me because I belonged to them.

Though there is a dark side to clan culture, that experience helped me imagine more fully what it might mean to greet those we don’t yet know as brothers and sisters: Whoever you are, I come to you in love because we are loved by the One who made us for each other. So we can meet in hope with open hearts and confident curiosity about what gifts may come in our meeting.