2 Timothy 4:19-21 — Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletus sick. Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

So look — “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So of course Paul is so kind as to remember all his friends at the end of his letter — but how is this little fragment of scripture “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”? Actually I think it goes right to the heart of our faith, for our purpose for being.
A thing which makes Christianity unique to me is that it is a faith based on relationships.
Our God is a God in three persons. As the shorter Westminster Catechism has it : “There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”
We were created for a relational purpose. The Westminster Catechism again: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Again and again in the New Testament we find evidence of the importance of relationships, first two Jesus and then to His followers.
Let me take just two examples of the importance Jesus placed on relationships. Consider the “Great High Priestly Prayer” in Chapter 17 of the Gospel,of John. Verses 20-21 say “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Jesus longed for an intimate integration of His Church. He said of His followers: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35). There are many other proofs of the importance of relationships to Jesus. Any reader of the gospels cannot fail to see the whole story of the development of the apostles as a story of loving relationships.
As for the master, so for the disciples! The Book of Acts makes it clear that the early church was a collection of communities, groups of people united in their love for Jesus and for each other. The letter to the Hebrews lays stress on the importance of the assembly with the brethren … The letters of Peter and Paul give many instructions for family relationships … and so it goes … Wherever one looks in our Bible we see the importance of relationship.
Paul’s ending to his letter to his beloved Timothy — his spiritual son — was no casual set of courtesies. It is an object lesson in the importance of the loving remembering and maintenance of relationships.
As these thoughts have been passing through my mind, I have recognized a rebuke. I’m not good at maintaining my relationships. If I owe you an email, please take this as my apology!