Monday, May 14, 2018
Every time
I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you
have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you
first heard it until now. And I am
certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work
until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So it is right that I should feel as I do
about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God,
both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good
News. God knows how much I love you and
long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and
more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really
matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of
Christ’s return. May you always be
filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in
your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:3-11(NLT)
From the tone of Paul’s
letter to the Philippian church you woudn’t quickly guess he wasn’t always the
easiest guy in the world to get along with; it reads like a love-fest. Yet it was always this way. Peter and Paul had a few run-ins. Paul disagreed sharply with Barnabas, his most
loyal supporter and travelling companion, over whether or not young John Mark
should get a second chance after wimping-out on a previous missionary trip. It seems Paul was stubborn, single-minded in
focus, incredibly difficult to understand, and something of a loner when it
came to making decisions. I’ve been
thinking I’ve got to get with Ancestry.com to have my DNA checked; I MUST
be related to him! Paul even preached
such long sermons that people fell asleep!
And yet, when Paul
writes to the Philippian church it is a love-letter, with the Apostle proclaiming
his unquestionable love and devotion for them.
He prays constantly for their growth in Christ, longs to see them, declares
how important their partnership in the ministry is to him, and announces how
much their fruitfulness in the kingdom blesses and pleases God. Paul goes so far as to tell the Philippians
they have a special place in his heart; sounds like an introvert
longing to set his extroverted inner-self free!
The only
conclusion I can come to about Paul is that he was as introverted as I am. He needs time away from everything so he can
process things in his mind; he needs to think quietly and understand just how
important others are in his life. He
doesn’t always do well in the here and now, but when he has
time to process and put it all in perspective, the whole concept of family, team,
and cooperation being absolutely critical in God’s plans becomes vividly clear to
him. Hence the letter to these beloved
partners; what God has made clear to Paul in private, he must now share with
his fellow-laborers.
This is a good
lesson for both sides of this equation.
Whether you are a hands-on/wear-your-feelings-on-your-shirtsleeve
extrovert…or a quiet/contemplative/not-easy-to-know introvert – whatever your
personality type, if relationship comes naturally like breathing in-and-out, or
you have to work at it to the point of exhaustion – the whole issue of
community, being together, is a Kingdom necessity and reality. This is what God has designed, and the loner
must realize how much he needs others like he needs air.
For You Today
Note to my
introverted self: remember to let those
who serve with you know how important they are, and how much you pray for them,
and how much you really love them.
Another note to my
hidden (deep-down, thank you) extroverted self:
when you make those attempts in the moment to say stuff before you’ve
thought it through, take some time alone to process…make sure you’re following
the Spirit’s leading, and not just crashing through someone else’s china shop like
a crazed bull.
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