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Good morning my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends, don’t you love weekends?
The picture above I just took a few moments ago, way up in Northern Wisconsin, where I have the great privilege of opening God’s Word for a group of Pastor & Wives in a spiritual retreat. The temperature is 12 degrees going down to 4 above zero tonight. The little lake is freezing over, and what appears to be paths in the snow, is the ice cracking as the lake freezes. I invite us to see the picture as a reflection of our how life paths intersect with each other… you and me and all the other people who are part of our lives.
May I invite you to spend some time this weekend remembering and maybe even reaching out to, some of those people God has brought into your life, who have been very significant in your life journey… especially if you haven’t connected with them in a while?
When we think of the Apostle Paul in the first century… what comes to your mind? I’ve never seen an actual picture of him, but in my mind, he stands about 5’10”, and weighs about 160lbs. His skin is ‘weathered’ by the sun, and wind swept by the sand due, to the amount of time he walked the dusty roads of the Roman Empire, traveling from town to town. His feet are calloused, his hands rough. He walks with a bit of limp, and maybe hunched over a bit. Not because of age, but because of the damage done to him through the beatings, stonings, sleeping on the ground and in prison dungeons.
But as I look into Paul’s face, I see a ready smile and twinkling eyes. As I watch him he loves to give men big bear hugs, especially if they are brothers in Christ whom he hasn’t seen in while. I see Paul as very respectful with women and the elderly. I see Paul often gazing off into the distance, deep in reflection, sometimes with a smile as he remembers an event, a place, a person who has meant much to him in his missionary life. I also see a tear well up in his eye, and his chin quiver, as he remembers… difficult, painful times in his life.
All of this and more I see as I read Paul’s letter to his dear friends in Philippi. We have it as the book of Philippians in our Bible, and today let’s look at chapter 2:19-29. Two men are mentioned who were very special friends to Paul. I wonder my brothers and sisters in Christ, as you look back over the journey of your life, who are those whom God has brought into your life who became very, very special to you and were significant in your spiritual growth?
Look at what Paul writes about Timothy: “I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests…” (2:20,21) Paul is right, isn’t he? We tend to be selfish people, all of us. We tend to think of ourselves first, we tend to prioritize our needs, our desires, over those of others… do you agree, is that what you generally see as you look at people? But Timothy was evidently quite different.
You may recall Paul first met Timothy when he was a young man still living at home in Lystra, according to Acts 16:1, on Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul invited Timothy to leave home and join his traveling missionary troupe, and life changed for Timothy!
Perhaps 20 years or more separated them in age, so Paul looked at Timothy in some ways as a son he never had by marriage. Timothy’s biological father was a Greek man, perhaps a businessman, and his mother was a Jewish Christian. When Timothy left home to join up with Paul, there is no record he returned home again to live. The rest of his life appears to have been dedicated to helping Paul in his missionary work of planting and encouraging the Christian churches across the Empire. So in many ways Paul was both Timothy’s spiritual mentor and the Christ following Dad he never had. Here in Philippians 2 we see Paul trusts Timothy to be his representative, going to visit the churches on his behalf, when he was in prison.
May I invite you friends to look at your life journey and ask ‘who is my Timothy‘? Do you see someone God has entrusted to your love, care, and mentoring, especially spiritual mentoring? May I also ask… to whom are you a Timothy? Who is your Paul? The person who has most influenced your spiritual life? Would you take some time right now and bring both of them before God… praying for both of these people in your life, thanking God for them, and asking God to bless them, if they are still alive. May I also urge you to consider sending both your Timothy and your Paul a note, letting them know Philippians 2:19-24 caused you to thank God for them.
And finally, I wonder if we each have an Epaphroditus in our lives? Do you see him in vs. 25? A fellow Christian whom God has used in your life, as Paul writes, “to take care of my needs.” Paul spent significant time in prison in these last years of his life, most often just waiting for some Roman leader to make a decision about his destiny.
Remember prisons then were not like prisons today. In those days you were sent to prison to rot. Little to nothing was provided to you as a prisoner. Very little food, no clothing, nothing of the basic necessities of life. Those were provided by family or friends, IF they were permitted by the guards to visit you.
Evidently Epaphroditus was a man who made it his mission, on behalf of Paul’s friends, to help keep Paul alive and writing the letters which the churches so appreciated, and several of which we have today in our Bibles. Notice in vs. 26&27 evidently as Epaphroditus was caring for Paul, he himself fell sick and nearly died.
In Roman prisons there was virtually no medical care. When prisoners died, it was helpful to the prison wardens. That was one less prisoner to care for. What illness it was we do not know. It may have been Malaria, or a bacterial infection, or rat bite or any number of things. Think back my friends. Has God provided you friends who suffered in some way because of their friendship with and care of you? Have you let them know how grateful to God you are for them.
Friends, have you noticed the pain of living in isolation, without mutually beneficial relationships with other people? You understand one of the worst possible tortures is ‘solitary confinement’, right? When a prisoner is put in a place where he or she has no contact with another person, none… total isolation. Many have gone mad, insane in solitary confinement.
God said in Genesis 2:18, “it is not good for man to be alone”. That doesn’t only mean marriage, and it doesn’t only mean men, males. God has designed us for relationships, friendships, family.
So, here my closing questions for today... has Jesus given you an understanding of the pain of loneliness, isolation? Has Jesus given you, therefore, an eye for people who are alone and does the Holy Spirit stir something in your spirit to reach to them, befriend them, even if you don’t know them? Have you noticed the power of smiling to someone alone, or engaging a conversation with someone who seems to be ignored by everyone else? It’s what Jesus would do isn’t it? This weekend let’s look around… it won’t be hard for you to find someone who needs a smile, an encouraging word from Jesus through you!
This weekend, using Philippians 2:19-29 as our example, let’s take time to thank God for special people in our lives, our Timothy’s, Paul’s and Epaphroditus’s, and reach out to them personally!
Oh God, I thank you for so many people, in so many places, that you have blessed Dawn and me with as dear friends and partners in ministry. We thank you God that you call us to live our lives deeply invested in the lives of others. No isolation, no independent living, rather mutually beneficial friendships, for God’s glory. . .
Click to read today’s chapter: Philippians 2. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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