May the mumbling commence!
What a wonderful source of joy we have in our Lord Jesus Christ – strong, complete, unwavering, and life-giving! We must do everything that we can do to protect such a joy.
And it needs to be protected… because sometimes we wander. Sometimes we lose our focus. Sometimes we bicker and argue with the very people who should be our joy in Christ Jesus. Read from the beginning of Philippians chapter four (NIV):
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Verses 1-7)
Paul’s joy and crown is the very people who are his brothers and sisters in Christ. This joy leaves no room for disagreements that divide. Paul may have been thinking here of the disagreement that he had with Barnabas about John Mark. It divided. It hurt all involved. And, worse yet – it hurt their witness to the gospel of Christ Jesus.
But the divide amongst Paul and Barnabas and John Mark healed over time. It healed with the help of other Christian brothers and sisters, I am sure. It is this same help that Paul pleads with the members of the Philippian church to show to Euodia and Syntyche. Together, we must work through our differences so that the cause of Christ will not be diminished in our labor.
When divides among Christians are healed, then we return to the theme of Philippians – Rejoice. Did you hear that? In case you didn’t – Rejoice! Rejoice and be gentle in how you relate to one another.
Though our joy in Christ Jesus is strong and complete and unwavering and life-giving, we sometimes are NOT strong. Sometimes we are vulnerable to one another. So, Paul bring us back to what brought the subject of joy up in the first place in his letter to the Philippians – the subject of prayer.
God is near. Never forget it or attempt to deny it. The Lord is near. There is no need to be anxious about anything. Bring your concerns and you divisions to God. Bring to God the things you cannot understand. And the peace of God will anoint us. The peace of God will guard us – our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God will guard our joy in the Lord.
Rejoice in the Lord… I say it again, “Rejoice!”
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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