Day 201, Philippians 4
As he commonly does, Paul concludes his letter with personal greetings and exhortations. Although these are addressed to specific people, we would do well to heed them ourselves.
The overall theme is harmonious generosity: give yourself fully to God (warts and all), and you will find it normal to overflow with generosity to those around you. Especially those who labor alongside God to bless and strengthen you (as Paul did).
Euodia and Syntyche show us that disagreements will always come in church families (none of us is perfect, and only God experiences zero conflict)! Paul’s advice is to be restored to unity in one mind (i.e. find the grounds for agreement) and for others (the dear friend and burden bearer Paul mentions) to help in this process. Others can help us be reconciled after disagreement provided there is love and goodwill between us.
The more we focus on God’s generosity, the more our joy will increase, and the more we will be able to reach unity despite our differences. Conversely, if we lose focus on God’s grace, and allow ourselves to be drawn to focus on each other’s faults, this unity will elude us.
Hence Paul’s concluding statement: I am convinced that my God will fully satisfy every need you have, for I have seen the abundant riches of glory revealed to me through Jesus Christ! And God our Father will receive all the glory and the honor throughout the eternity of eternities! Amen!”
Have a great day!
Mark.