Philippians 1:3-5 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

With the theme of The Joy of the Lord, we will be reading just about every verse of Philippians. Thinking about it, Paul’s ministry in Philippi got off to a pretty rough start, what with being beaten and imprisoned, as is recorded in Acts 16. However, that very suffering seems to have forged a bond between Paul and the believers in Philippi that was perhaps stronger than his bond with any other group. For one thing, they never doubted his commitment, to the Gospel and to them! It was that relationship that gave Paul joy in praying for the believers. God gives us all sorts of relationships, and we never know when we meet someone how that relationship will develop or continue, or perhaps be strictly passing. The thing is, we were created for relationship, most importantly to God but also to the people around us. It is well known that Jesus said that the most important commandment was to love God, and the second, of similar importance, was to love our neighbor. (Matthew 22:37-40) You can’t have love without a relationship! That’s why people who think they love entertainers, or even AI chatbots, are severely deceived.  There is no genuine reciprocity there, and thus no relationship. Men and women, in all their multitude of differences, tend to approach relationships differently, with men likely to have fewer close relationships than women, but even men were created for relationship. If we will get our relationship with our Creator right, (the vertical part of the cross) then He will guide us into the right horizontal relationships we need with those around us. If He commands it, and Jesus said He does, then He makes it possible, and the blessings are boundless.

I have always thought of myself as something of a loner, and I have had to learn the importance of relationships. God blessed me incredibly in that area when He matched me up with my wife, when I was just 20, and our relationship has just grown since then. He has blessed me with a few very close friends, and many more less intimate relationships. Above all, over the years I have learned to draw closer to Him, to deepen my surrender and obedience to Him. At just five years old I protested my love for Jesus, but that was naturally a very childish love. 72 years later, my love for Him continues to grow, to the point that I now have an almost intense anticipation of being with Him, with no earthly things in the way. However, I can’t love Him accurately here and now if I fail to relate rightly with the people around me. Relationships are complex! I need to walk in humility, always remembering that I have room to grow, and seeking His assistance in doing so.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the past several days of being with my daughters. One leaves today to return to the US, and the other tomorrow. Thank You for the substantive interactions I have had with them. Help me make the use that You intend of these last hours, so that they, and we, will be built up and grown as You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!