Joy Complete
Read Philippians 2:1-13.
When you love someone, you do what you can to make them happy. It breaks your heart as a parent to see your children heartbroken, beat up by the world around them. You'd do almost anything to see them smile at that point. When your spouse is hurting or facing a serious challenge, you want to jump in there to make it all better. When a close friend is going through tough times, our initial impulse is to try to help take their pain away (and, of course, the Methodist solution is to bake a casserole—because comfort food is always a good idea!).
Believe it or not, pastors often feel that same burden and same impulse for their congregation, for the folks they have come to love and care for. Paul is that sort of pastor to these folks in Philippi, these folks he has a lot of praise for and whom he loves so very deeply. In the beginning of this chapter, Paul urges them to do one thing for him. If they love Jesus, if they have found encouragement, tenderness and compassion in his company, then would they do one thing for him as their pastor? "Make my joy complete," he asks, "by imitating Jesus."
Not a small request, but it is the heart cry of every pastor I know. One, we want to be better at imitating Jesus ourselves, following him so closely that others see Jesus first before they see us. I know I have a long way to go, but by God's grace, I'm farther along in the journey than I was a year ago, or two, or forty. But the second thing we deeply desire is for our congregations to imitate Jesus in the same way, to come along with us on the journey. I knew a pastor who, many years ago, retired early. When asked why, he simply and sadly said, "I'm tired of trying to make Christians to act like Jesus."
"Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus," Paul writes, even if that mindset leads us to being obedient unto death. And some brothers and sisters around the world are indeed finding that imitating Jesus will lead them to death! Pray for them! But in light of that, the things Jesus asks and expects us to do aren't all that difficult, are they? Love the neighbor, feed the hungry, support the mission, reach out to the least, the last and the lost. These (and others) are the ways we imitate Jesus and help make Paul's joy complete.
That is Paul's hope for his church at Philippi, and that is every pastor's desire for their church. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (4:12) by walking so close to Jesus that others see him first.
When you love someone, you do what you can to make them happy. It breaks your heart as a parent to see your children heartbroken, beat up by the world around them. You'd do almost anything to see them smile at that point. When your spouse is hurting or facing a serious challenge, you want to jump in there to make it all better. When a close friend is going through tough times, our initial impulse is to try to help take their pain away (and, of course, the Methodist solution is to bake a casserole—because comfort food is always a good idea!).
Believe it or not, pastors often feel that same burden and same impulse for their congregation, for the folks they have come to love and care for. Paul is that sort of pastor to these folks in Philippi, these folks he has a lot of praise for and whom he loves so very deeply. In the beginning of this chapter, Paul urges them to do one thing for him. If they love Jesus, if they have found encouragement, tenderness and compassion in his company, then would they do one thing for him as their pastor? "Make my joy complete," he asks, "by imitating Jesus."
Not a small request, but it is the heart cry of every pastor I know. One, we want to be better at imitating Jesus ourselves, following him so closely that others see Jesus first before they see us. I know I have a long way to go, but by God's grace, I'm farther along in the journey than I was a year ago, or two, or forty. But the second thing we deeply desire is for our congregations to imitate Jesus in the same way, to come along with us on the journey. I knew a pastor who, many years ago, retired early. When asked why, he simply and sadly said, "I'm tired of trying to make Christians to act like Jesus."
"Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus," Paul writes, even if that mindset leads us to being obedient unto death. And some brothers and sisters around the world are indeed finding that imitating Jesus will lead them to death! Pray for them! But in light of that, the things Jesus asks and expects us to do aren't all that difficult, are they? Love the neighbor, feed the hungry, support the mission, reach out to the least, the last and the lost. These (and others) are the ways we imitate Jesus and help make Paul's joy complete.
That is Paul's hope for his church at Philippi, and that is every pastor's desire for their church. "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (4:12) by walking so close to Jesus that others see him first.
Well said!
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