A "From", a "To", and a "Prayer"

To all who are chosen and loved by God the Father and are kept safe by Jesus Christ.

--- The Bible

The first two verses of the book of Jude (New Testament), contain only three sentences - a "from", a "to" and a prayer. They require us to look harder at certain of the Christian things we do...

The From:

Jude calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. He has real humility in calling himself a servant. He also establishes his wordly, family-relations... For those of us who try to style ourselves purely as children/followers of God, here's a tip - Family ties are important too, in establishing identity.

The To:

Jude doesn't say "To the believers..." Instead, he pointedly says "chosen and loved by God the Father"... This is a harder way of looking at it. A person could call himself a believer/Christian... but only a true follower of the Lord would be able to accept the title of being "chosen and loved" by God the Father. Amazing!

The Prayer:

He does not pray that they prosper; he does not pray that they believe, either. He simply prays for kindness, love and peace - few of the simplest, yet most important things for us who are "chosen and loved" by God the Father.

Questions to ask ourselves:

1. Do we consider ourselves servants or great disciples of Jesus?

2. Are we chosen and loved by God the Father, and kept safe by Christ?

3. What do we pray earnestly for? For kindness, love and peace amongst us believers, or something else?