Recently I read the autobiography of the Lady Benazir Bhutto, an astute politician and former Prime Minister of Pakistan. She was killed in a bomb explosion in 2007. In her book, she tells of how she was severally imprisoned, sometimes under house arrest and other times in official jail. The disturbing memoirs are marked by the agony of political persecution, the anguish of separation from family, the absence of hope beyond the cause for which she was imprisoned. It is a sad story.
Not so for Paul. As he writes this letter, he is also under house arrest in Rome. He is allowed visitors who can meet his needs, but he has no freedom. His every move is watched and restricted by austere Roman soldiers. Yet we do not see a hint of despair in Philippians. Quite the opposite, Phillipians has been referred to as the "epistle of joy". It is a letter written by a happy friend to trusted friends. Chapter 1: 1-11 is an affirmation of a warm relationship.
Let's take a look at some of those markers of friendship:
Thankfulness and joy vs. 3, 4: unlike several other epistles where he grieves over the churches, Paul remembers the Philippians church with thankfulness. In this verse, Paul is recounting his joy because of their partnership with him in the gospel. We will discuss partnership when we come to the gifts, but for now think back: has a friend ever done something for you that so overwhelmed you that tears jumped out of your eyes involuntarily? That was Paul’s feeling, welling deep out of his heart into prayer for the Philippians.
Confident and affirming vs 6: Paul cannot be with the Philippians physically, and though he longs for them he has faith in God, that God will complete the good work he began in them. This translates into an inspiring prayer in Vs 9-10, that they may have love and discern what is right and pure. Paul knows that God will teach them his ways, and also that they are mature enough to repond to God's guidance, and therefore he does not need to fret over them. So he affirms them. When you relate to people that are likely to be vulnerable (and especially to younger siblings or old folk who tend to tell tales of how things are not working), do you inspire hope in the God who can work out all things right, or do you propagate the misery?
Affection and longing vs 8—Paul does not just love the Phillipians. Indeed any Christian can love because God has commanded it. In Paul’s case there is real warmth of feeling and trust. You cannot contrive affection. It comes out of the depths, like a cool, clear stream that flows from the belly of the hills. You could say that love is like water. It is necessary. We cannot do without it. But sometimes loving is hard, for love is muddied by many things. If you have ever watched water flow from the source of at the base of a hill, you know that is the sort of drink you long for when you are thirsty. Paul longs for the Philippians in the same way. But what is the secret of his affection and longing for this church? As we shall see in Chapter 3, he has nurtured one ambition—to know Christ and him only. He is totally satisfied by Christ, and so he can love out of a pure, overflowing heart.
To the measure that we know we are loved by God, so can we be thankful, confident and affirming of others, in other words, love in the true biblical sense of that word. Otherwise we smother others with our neediness and our gifts become a form of managing those relationships. They in turn become dependent on us and they cannot grow beyond our own level of growth and circumstances. Let us pray that God will teach us to love and care for one another as Paul did for the Philippians.
Here are two questions for reflection: Would Paul write Phillipians Chapter 1:1-11 to you? In you relationship with others, how can you build up the kind of relationship that Paul shared with the Philippian church?
You are welcome to post your reflections and feedback on this passage.
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