St. Paul opens his letter to the Church at Ephesus with a word of thanksgiving. “Hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” This was his normal practice even when he spends the bulk of the letter fussing with the community. This is not simply buttering them up before dropping the hammer. Rather, it comes from a profound spiritual instinct that the Spirit is at work in our midst despite the times when we are messing up. When we find ourselves at odds with others it would be a healthy practice before chiding to name the gifts that you see in them.
