PAUL’S LETTER to the church at Philippi is filled to overflowing with an authentic love for his fellow Christians there. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:3-8) As we read of the warmth of his feelings towards his brothers and sisters in Christ, we have those same feelings stirred within us; memories of good times of fellowship that we have shared with others come to the forefront of our minds, and we relive cherished moments of good times gone by. Faces of friends we have not seen for a while appear in almost photographic detail, and as we contemplate them, even deeper memories emerge. Times spent joyously together in celebration of some life event—a wedding, perhaps, or the christening of a grandchild—are mixed poignantly with the shared sorrows of the passing of a loved one, theirs or ours.
In Paul’s mind must have been the details of when he first arrived in Philippi, and how he met Lydia (cf. Acts 16:13-15) and ultimately baptized her, and the other events that led to the forming and planting of the first Christian church on European soil. Those events included both he and Silas being thrown in jail, where they were when a major earthquake occurred, and how the fact that he and Silas did not use that opportunity to escape, but instead stayed in the now-open prison led to the jailer and his entire family being saved (cf. Acts 17:25-34). It is years later now, and Paul is in prison again as he writes this letter, so perhaps his memories are especially touching. And so, Paul begins his letter, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Phil. 1:3)
Why ‘my’ God? Why not ‘our’ God? He has already addressed the unity of their shared faith. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father.” (Phil. 1:1) And this concept is already an unassailable tenet of the doctrinal underpinnings of the fledging communal practices of early believers. They were first called Christians at the Antioch church (cf. Acts 11:26) where Paul and Barnabas ministered together. And it was Jesus himself who taught the foundational Lord’s Prayer, which begins with “Our Father,” and emphasizes “Give us this day our daily bread.” (cf. Matt. 6:5-15; Luke 11:1-13)
But now, Paul is aged; in fact, he is approaching the end of his earthly life, though he may not be fully aware of this. This letter may have been written as late as 62 A.D., not too long before, anecdotally, Paul was beheaded at the order of the Emperor Nero. Paul’s personal history is one of great trials; he has been flogged five times, stoned, stoned and left for dead. He spent years walking the countries of the Ancient Near East and Asia Minor as he evangelized and planted churches. Much of the time he was an itinerant laborer, working with his hands as a tent-maker. Though he often lived a life of extreme privation, he will say of himself in this same letter “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Phil. 4:12a) And he finishes his thought this way: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:13) God is a very personal God for Paul. God has seen him through each and every dire circumstance in life, and Paul’s faith is that he will continue to do so. Here, alone in his cell with his memories, this is intimately true; so, he says, ‘My God.’
We all face the unknowns of life just as Paul faced them. Each generation of Christians has had to adjust to these uncertainties. We don’t know how far we are from the end, nor do we know the trials we will face between now and that time. What we do know is that there will be trials, and sometimes we’ll feel all alone, and we know we will need the same God that saw us through our previous trials to see us through the ones yet to come. And, we can look back at previous trials, and see that the hand of God protected us, and that his grace and mercy brought us through those previous trials. And because of his steadfast faithfulness towards us and the way he has met our needs for provision and protection in trials of the past, our faith in him is strong regarding the as-yet-unseen trials of the future. We find true rest in such faith. It makes real for us Jesus’ promise: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
And, as we await such trials, it is good to do so in the company of those who have the same outlook and share the same journey, and the same destiny. Listen again to Paul, still in his same letter to the believers in Philippi—and to us—as he encourages us in our shared faith. “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:1-4) So it is with those who love one another. So it is with us.
Q. We all want this kind of friend; am I this kind of friend?
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