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Philippians 2:12-13
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Philippians
4:1
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12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my
presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work
for his good pleasure.
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1 Therefore,
my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in
the Lord, my beloved.
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I just started looking at this verse
today (4:1) and felt like I had hit the most encouraging and heart-changing
Scripture. All the descriptions of relationship in this one little greeting
have raised the bar for my expectations of what things should feel like in our
church (or any church).
No matter how much healing we may need
to follow Paul's example (yes, God made sure we got that first!), this is what
I expect God to accomplish:
· "brothers" - that we would feel the brotherly love of
the brotherhood of believers in Jesus Christ
· "whom I love" or "beloved" - that all of us
would feel how much we love each other, and how much we are loved by our
brothers
· "and long for" - the love that wants to be together when
apart
· "my joy" - yes, people who cause us joy in the most
personal of ways
· "and crown" - the prize that makes us feel like
winners (yes, relationships can do that)
· "my beloved" - like a love-sandwich, emphasizing that
everything in the letter is written in love, a pure love letter
As soon as I read this, I realized
that there is a difficulty. It is not that my church is difficult to love. It
is that I have been rejected by so many people I have loved that my sark
(flesh) wants to shut down the whole love-thing so that I don't get hurt
anymore. In the flesh, self-protection makes more sense than seeking to know
love the way God’s word describes.
However, in the Spirit, we can know
love the way the apostle knew love. We can feel loved by God, loved by one another,
and love for one another. We can feel joy in people, and give people joy. We
can enjoy relationship-connections that make us feel like we have won a prize (instead
of lost one more person).
The fascinating thing is that, with
all the work God has already done in my life, including the very inescapable
challenge of following Paul's example,[1] as I see this amazing
example Paul has set, something that immediately feels universally applicable
to the whole church for all time, I know God can do this. He can accomplish
this kind of love relationships even among people who have been hurt far too
many times by people they loved.
So, I begin this week knowing that God
can lead me/us into this kind of relationship with each other where, instead of
looking to all the people who have hurt us, triggering the sark to hide in defense,
we look to those who have walked in the example of Paul, and Timothy, and the
other apostles and faithful men who have loved the church in the same way.
God is clearly working in me to will
this no matter how many times I have been hurt, and to work this with whoever
is in our church, or anyone I meet who is part of Jesus’ church, without
influence from all the people who have left us. It is the ones who endured in
love relationship to the very end who set the example I want to follow.
Oh yes, and this kind of relationship
will do pretty cool things to our brains too!
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Philippians 3:17; I taught on this in our home church: http://in2freedom.blogspot.ca/2015/03/home-church-video-unified-imitation-of.html
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