Partners

"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..." (Philippians 1:4-5)

Imprisoned and in chains, Paul’s contact with others was severely limited.  The man who had made a career of being with others and influencing their lives, now saw only a few other human beings each week—his guards and the occasional visitors he would have been allowed. But Paul had his memories of Philippi.

Those memories were not so much of his arrest and his harsh treatment. His memories were of God working to change lives through all those experiences.  And as he sat in confinement in Rome, his mind transported him into the fellowship of Philippian disciples¾now more than 1000 nautical miles and many hours by boat away.  Barely five lines into his letter we find Paul rejoicing. About what? The relationships God has given him with other disciples.

Christianity is most certainly a personal experience but—contrary to much modern thinking—it is just as certainly not a private experience.  To learn to live is to learn to deeply connect with others, and nothing—absolutely nothing—brings people together like the gospel.  First of all, disciples are joint heirs with Christ, sharing together in the amazing and lavish grace of God.  Then we are colleagues, coworkers and fellow soldiers in a great common cause—the mission of taking God’s grace to every person on the face of the earth.

But this must be more than a partnership on paper. It must be a partnership in practice.  Paul could feel this way about the disciples in Philippi because they had worked together, prayed together, suffered together, and celebrated the victories together.  Only when we have been in the trenches with others will we have relationships that are full of life.