3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-8 niv
Our faith is in part all about imitation.
Not merely pretending and acting but actually imitating those who have gone before us as a way to learn how to live by faith.
We are called disciples before we are christians.
You are known as a christian because you are actually a disciple of Jesus!
Paul puts a lot into context here for me, particularly with the season we are in.
- He thanks God for the people God has put in his life.
- He says that he sees them not just a members of some club but actually has partners.
- He goes on to encourage them about the future.
- And the he wraps it all up but expressing just how much he longs for them. That he has them each in his heart. The people he knows are not just acquaintances, they are far more important to him!
I find this so challenging and something I think we can go for in our Christian Culture.
Cultivating it to the point where we "long for one another with the affection of Christ Jesus"
So who has God put in your life?
Maybe you like some, really like others and maybe think you could live without the rest?
But I believe God has put us together for a truly divine and beautiful purpose.
A purpose you can only discover if you want to look at things maybe a little different.
Decide today that you want to be present and be engaged.
Look for ways to be with, along side, minister to and with his people.
Hunt for excuses to be together, not reasons to be apart.
Maybe even see this level of love and longing as actually a measure of true spiritual maturity?
Something to think about...
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