Joyful Living Devotional - Day 16
Day 16 – Equipped to Love
Philippians 2:1-2 (NLT) 1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Paul shifts his attention from the Philippians’ relationship with Christ Jesus, trusting in Him and suffering for Him, to their relationships with one another. The first part of the letter focuses on their life in Christ. Paul now shifts their focus to look at Jesus as their example for relating to one another. The NIV renders the first two verses as follows: “1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (Philippians 2:1-2 NIV).
Everything Paul has admonished them to do up to this point results in practically living out their faith. Christ’s love, when lived out, means loving and treating one another as they see Christ has treated them. Paul is not simply saying to them: “Hey, Philippians, get along.” He appeals to the distinct reality of what it means to be a Christlike person. He lays out five pertinent truths for the Philippian church and, by extension, for us as we follow Christ.
Every believer belongs to Christ and is united with Him. We are all comforted by the reality of His love for us. Our comfort comes from His love. The fellowship we enjoy with one another and with our Heavenly Father is brought about by the Holy Spirit. We share the same Holy Spirit, meaning the same Spirit dwells in all believers. Tender hearts toward others and hearts filled with compassion for others are a direct result of God’s work in our lives. These five realities are the very reason we should be able to work together, love one another, and even be in wholehearted agreement.
If I belong to Christ and you belong to Christ, there is no reason we should not be united, because Christ is not divided. Let me say it more simply: “Jesus gets along with Jesus.” So, if we both belong to Jesus, why are we so divided? As followers of Jesus, we all find our comfort and security in God’s love. God loves all of us in the same unconditional way. So why can’t His love enable us to love one another? We are born again through the power of the same Holy Spirit and that same Spirit empowers us to become like Jesus. So why can’t we lean on the Holy Spirit to help us love one another God’s way? It is the Holy Spirit’s work in us that makes our hearts tender and compassionate. Why would we show compassion only to some and not to others?
You see, no matter how you cut it, it all ends up in the same place. Jesus is not divided, and we should not be divided either. Just as Paul encouraged the Philippians, he did so for many of the churches he wrote to. For instance, he wrote to the Corinthians, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose”
(1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT).
He says it even more emphatically in verse 13: “Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!”
(1 Corinthians 1:13 NLT).
Jesus matters! If Jesus matters to you and to me, then Jesus becomes the Person around whom we build our unity. Unity can only be built on the truth of Christ; anything else is nothing but human attempts to reconstruct Babel. Man-made unity is feeble against the onslaught of a divisive world. Is it possible for the church to be one? Yes, it is! Because Jesus prayed for it and modeled it for us to see, and because the Holy Spirit enables it, all because we are rooted in Christ’s love. True joy awaits those who are willing to put their own agendas aside and become part of something bigger than themselves. Working together, with one mind and purpose, loving one another as Jesus loves us. “34 And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. 35 Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35 TLB).
With Christ’s love as our comfort, the Holy Spirit as our Equipper, and tender hearts full of compassion for one another, the world will take notice that we belong to Christ. We are fully equipped to love God’s way. Are we willing to yield to God’s love so that our joy would be full?
“Even when I feared and detested Christianity, I was struck by its essential unity, which, in spite of its divisions, it has never lost. I trembled on recognizing the same unmistakable aroma coming from the writings of Dante and Bunyan, Thomas Aquinas and William Law.” - C. S. Lewis
Prayer:
(Adapted from Ephesians 3:14-19)
“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower us with inner strength through Your Spirit. I pray that You, Lord Jesus, will make Your home in our hearts as we trust in You. Let our roots grow down into God’s love and keep us strong. And may we have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. May we experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You, Father God.” In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.
Philippians 2:1-2 (NLT) 1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Paul shifts his attention from the Philippians’ relationship with Christ Jesus, trusting in Him and suffering for Him, to their relationships with one another. The first part of the letter focuses on their life in Christ. Paul now shifts their focus to look at Jesus as their example for relating to one another. The NIV renders the first two verses as follows: “1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (Philippians 2:1-2 NIV).
Everything Paul has admonished them to do up to this point results in practically living out their faith. Christ’s love, when lived out, means loving and treating one another as they see Christ has treated them. Paul is not simply saying to them: “Hey, Philippians, get along.” He appeals to the distinct reality of what it means to be a Christlike person. He lays out five pertinent truths for the Philippian church and, by extension, for us as we follow Christ.
Every believer belongs to Christ and is united with Him. We are all comforted by the reality of His love for us. Our comfort comes from His love. The fellowship we enjoy with one another and with our Heavenly Father is brought about by the Holy Spirit. We share the same Holy Spirit, meaning the same Spirit dwells in all believers. Tender hearts toward others and hearts filled with compassion for others are a direct result of God’s work in our lives. These five realities are the very reason we should be able to work together, love one another, and even be in wholehearted agreement.
If I belong to Christ and you belong to Christ, there is no reason we should not be united, because Christ is not divided. Let me say it more simply: “Jesus gets along with Jesus.” So, if we both belong to Jesus, why are we so divided? As followers of Jesus, we all find our comfort and security in God’s love. God loves all of us in the same unconditional way. So why can’t His love enable us to love one another? We are born again through the power of the same Holy Spirit and that same Spirit empowers us to become like Jesus. So why can’t we lean on the Holy Spirit to help us love one another God’s way? It is the Holy Spirit’s work in us that makes our hearts tender and compassionate. Why would we show compassion only to some and not to others?
You see, no matter how you cut it, it all ends up in the same place. Jesus is not divided, and we should not be divided either. Just as Paul encouraged the Philippians, he did so for many of the churches he wrote to. For instance, he wrote to the Corinthians, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose”
(1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT).
He says it even more emphatically in verse 13: “Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!”
(1 Corinthians 1:13 NLT).
Jesus matters! If Jesus matters to you and to me, then Jesus becomes the Person around whom we build our unity. Unity can only be built on the truth of Christ; anything else is nothing but human attempts to reconstruct Babel. Man-made unity is feeble against the onslaught of a divisive world. Is it possible for the church to be one? Yes, it is! Because Jesus prayed for it and modeled it for us to see, and because the Holy Spirit enables it, all because we are rooted in Christ’s love. True joy awaits those who are willing to put their own agendas aside and become part of something bigger than themselves. Working together, with one mind and purpose, loving one another as Jesus loves us. “34 And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. 35 Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35 TLB).
With Christ’s love as our comfort, the Holy Spirit as our Equipper, and tender hearts full of compassion for one another, the world will take notice that we belong to Christ. We are fully equipped to love God’s way. Are we willing to yield to God’s love so that our joy would be full?
“Even when I feared and detested Christianity, I was struck by its essential unity, which, in spite of its divisions, it has never lost. I trembled on recognizing the same unmistakable aroma coming from the writings of Dante and Bunyan, Thomas Aquinas and William Law.” - C. S. Lewis
Prayer:
- Pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT):
(Adapted from Ephesians 3:14-19)
“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower us with inner strength through Your Spirit. I pray that You, Lord Jesus, will make Your home in our hearts as we trust in You. Let our roots grow down into God’s love and keep us strong. And may we have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. May we experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You, Father God.” In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.
Posted in Joyful Living Devotional