EXPRESSING OUR LOVE FOR THOSE WHO MEAN SO MUCH TO US
Philippians 1:1-5 Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
[2] Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3] I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
[4] Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
[5] For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
A timely word of encouragement, receiving a card in the mail, or a phone call sent to you for no special occasion but because you were a blessing to someone else is uplifting to the soul. How encouraging these little things can be to the weary soul or the one who feels they are of no worth or just feeling low thinking they have been forgotten. The apostle Paul took the time to tell these saints at Philippi how much they meant to him. In fact, they were so important to him that he took the time to thank God for them personally in his prayer life. The Word tells us they meant so much, every time he prayed, Paul was thankful for them. The thought of them brought praise for God to the heart of Paul that overflowed into his personal prayer time. Paul had discovered a wonderful spiritual secret to influencing the lives of others; express your love and appreciation for those who are meaningful in your life and forget them not.
Paul was facing his final days upon the earth before being martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ and he believed in the power of the expression of one’s heart in the lives of others. Though he had faced persecution and sufferings at every turn this was his greatest hour of faith. In our final hours of life, and this time has been appointed, we will have no problem with prioritizing our time. We will reach out to do those things that are most important to us and remember those we love most in this world. How we spend our final days will define for us those things of value. At the forefront of Paul’s heart was not death but, the choice to impart life and encouragement into the lives of his brothers and sisters in Christ that held special honor in his heart. Paul’s words are saturated with a message drawn straight from the well of his heart; “you are a blessing to me and I love you”. Death bears fruit by identifying to us our utmost treasures; what has value and what does not. As the certainty of impending death surfaced, Paul turned right around and poured it out unto praise to God. Paul praised the Lord for those who had been a blessing to him in the Lord’s work. Friend, maybe you have brothers and sisters in Christ that mean so much to you, but for whatever reason you never tell them what a blessing they are in your life. Take some time today, send them a card, call them, visit them, hug their neck, and express your love and appreciation for them. Then, humbly bow and thank the LORD for placing them in your life. During this season of Thanksgiving, take some time to reflect on the family, friends, and saints of God the Lord has blessed you with to do the Lord’s work. We never know what kind of impact a simple expression of love and gratitude may have on someone’s day and walk with Jesus.
Bro. Lawrence Longworth
Isaiah 61:1 “the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
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