The Affection of Christ Jesus
Barbaranne Kelly, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy (Philippians 1:3–4).
Joyful remembrance. Longing for those we love. Separation from our family. After a year of enforced separation from loved ones not only far and wide but also from my own covenant community, I’m feeling Paul’s yearning in the opening chapter of Philippians. In writing this particular epistle, he was writing to beloved friends. Unlike the Roman or Colossian Christians, Paul knew the believers who made up the church at Philippi. As he wrote, he could see their faces, hear their voices, remember their laughter and tears, and, no doubt, feel their parting embraces from the last time he’d seen them.
The letter to the Philippians is dripping with affection. Unlike many of his other epistles, Paul isn’t writing to lay out a systematic theology (as in Romans or Ephesians) or correct glaring errors in doctrine or lifestyle (as in Galatians or 1 Corinthians).
This is a letter written to friends and saturated with love, joy, peace, and contentment.
This is also a letter written from prison, and yet, there are no hints of “woe is me.” How in the world can Paul be so filled with love, joy, peace, and contentment while chained to a Roman prison guard? The secret, which he is not keeping secret but openly declaring throughout the letter, is that Paul was patterning himself after his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
By introducing himself and Timothy as “servants of Christ Jesus” in verse 1, Paul declares his dependence upon, humble submission, and allegiance to the glorious Lord next to whom all else in life is worthless (3:8). Paul’s passion, even from prison, is the spread of the gospel and his friends’ growth in faith and fruitfulness. Prison hasn’t changed Paul’s priorities. His concerns are shaped by Christ, not his circumstances.
In his dependence, humble submission, and allegiance to his Master, Paul is exemplifying the mindset of Christ, which he will exhort his readers to display:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5).
Paul’s attitude toward his imprisonment mirrors Christ’s attitude:
When [Jesus] suffered, he . . . continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).
Because Jesus knew and acted upon the unfailing faithfulness of his Father to keep his promises, he could entrust himself to his Father and continue his mission on earth to redeem his people—even through the agony of the cross. Likewise, Paul, knowing and acting upon the Father’s faithfulness, entrusted himself fully to God and continued his mission to spread the gospel and encourage the fledgling churches in the truth—even from his prison cell.
Knowing to whom he belongs, Paul’s horizon is blazing with the glory of the gospel, not hemmed in by his prison bars.
Paul, therefore, writes to his friends without any hint of self-pity, addressing them as “saints,” “partners in the gospel,” and “partakers (with him) of grace.” He is thankful for them, prays for them with joy, holds them in his heart, and yearns for them all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Paul’s love for these beloved friends is grounded in Christ’s love, and his bond with them is secured by the God who began the good work both in himself and also in them and will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (1:1–8).
As a grateful recipient of grace, Paul rejoices in seeing that same grace poured into and overflowing out of the lives of the Philippian believers. He may not be present with his loved ones, but as he prays, he holds them close, gratefully bringing them to God, certain of the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their lives. And as he prays, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ floods his heart with joy—even in his prison cell.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
If you are in Christ, then you too belong to the glorious Lord next to whom all else in
life is worthless, the God who will complete the good work He began in you. If you feel imprisoned by difficult circumstances, you too can entrust yourself fully to our faithful Father, who judges justly. You, too, can see with eyes of faith the blazing glory of the gospel filling the horizon. You, too, can be filled with the love, joy, peace, and contentment that come only from Christ.
Are you also longing for the presence of far-flung family members and/or your covenant community? Is the separation from friends and family draining your joy and pulling you into discouragement? Bring them to the Father in prayer. You may not be present with your loved ones, but as you pray you can hold them close, gratefully bringing them to God, certain of the sanctifying work of the Spirit both in your and their lives. And as you pray, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will flood your heart with joy.
PRAYER
Father, help me to see every circumstance in which You place me as an opportunity to entrust myself fully to You. Give me the eyes of faith to see Your glory. Help me to depend upon, give my allegiance to, and humbly submit my will entirely to my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. And grant me, I pray, the love, joy, peace, and contentment that are found in You alone. In the matchless name of Christ and for Your glory, I pray, Amen.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbaranne Kelly and her husband Jim are the parents of five of the neatest people they know, and now Barbaranne is the Grandmommy to THREE grand boys! In October, that will change to FOUR! Barbaranne and Jim are members of Christ Presbyterian Church in New Braunfels, Texas, where she leads a Bible study for women in the hope that she and they may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge Enjoy and be inspired by more of Barbaranne’s writing at her blog.
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Originally published Monday, 01 May 2023.
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