Philemon 1:7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

We tend to think of Paul as some sort of “Christian Superman,” given all that he did for the Gospel and the kingdom of God. However, he couldn’t do it alone, and he was very aware of that. In all of his letters he mentions various fellow-workers, and his appreciation for them is evident. Philemon certainly wasn’t a major figure in the early Church, but here Paul expresses the joy and comfort he receives from knowing that Philemon was good to other believers. No single individual can do it all! Even Jesus, who was perfect in every way, raised up apostles to do things He wouldn’t be physically present to do, and that is how the Church has grown down through the centuries. He was spot-on accurate when He said that it was good for His disciples that He would be leaving them. (John 16:7) The Holy Spirit is available to every believer, making every believer an extension of God in ways that we can’t fully grasp. We need each other, because individually we are easily overwhelmed, but together, the gates of hell can’t stand against us. (Matthew 16:18)

This is a lesson I have had to learn, because it wasn’t instinctual for me. I have been blessed with a wide variety of abilities, and that has pushed me toward pride. Lots of things seem easier to do myself, rather than getting someone else to do them. I’m still learning! One of the blessings of getting older is being forced to recognize my physical limitations, forcing me to ask for and receive help. An immediate example is the spotlights illuminating the cross on top of the building here. I installed them, and I have changed the bulbs more than once, but they are burnt out again, and it would be the height of folly, literally, for me to try to replace them at this point. This gives me the opportunity to ask one of our young neighbors to do the job, giving us another contact to share the Gospel with them. For that matter, I can’t be in more than one place at a time, so I certainly need and appreciate the millions of believers around the world who are sharing Christ in ways and in places that I absolutely never could. I need fellow-workers, and I need to be a good fellow-worker for them.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for how You have grown me, and for how You continue to grow me. May I fit into the Body of Christ, into Your plan, in the way that You desire, so that You may receive all the glory as Your will is accomplished. Thank You. Praise God!