It Was Kind of You

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” (Philippians 4:10-14 ESV)

Paul, it appears, was speaking here of a financial (material) need of his that the Philippian church helped supply for him. And he was grateful. But rather than go into what Paul’s situation was, I believe I am to talk here about our needs, i.e. the needs of all of us in today’s world who believe in Jesus Christ with God-provided and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, and especially of those who are serving the Lord in ministry full-time, as was Paul. 

So, what kinds of needs do we all have? Some of them might be financial, or material in nature, such as the need of food and clothing and shelter, etc., which are the basic essentials of life, from a natural perspective. Others are of the heart, such as the need for comfort, encouragement, love, affection, and someone showing us care and concern, checking in on us to see what we need or if we have any prayer needs, and just to be a friend to us.

And then we have spiritual needs, which are also of the heart, which includes the need to be in fellowship with Jesus Christ in a daily walk of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living, and to have true Christian fellowship with other like-minded followers of Jesus Christ. For not everything today called “Christian fellowship” has anything to do with Christ or with his teachings or with following him in obedience to his will for our lives.

Do we need socialization with other people? Yes! But if all that is being served to us, in the name of Christianity, is just socializing and nothing to do with our Savior and true biblical fellowship with Christ and with one another, then we NEED to have that kind of fellowship. We need to be sharing with one another what we are learning from the Lord, and we need to be encouraging one another in our walks of faith and obedience to God.

We need to not be ignored, abandoned, rejected, cast aside, and forgotten as though we are worthless just because we don’t fit in with today’s culture and values and philosophies, and just because we take God and his word seriously, and so we are sharing with others the truth of God’s word. And if I remember correctly, I believe that Paul was in one of those situations when he wrote this letter, because he dared to tell people the truth of the gospel.

I think sometimes that we can get so caught up in our own lives that we don’t pay attention to the needs of others which are all around us. And if we take the time to reach out to others in their needs, it, too, should help us to forget about what is going on in our own lives, to a point, to where we are not so much inward focused but to where we are now outward focused toward meeting the needs of others who God puts in our pathway.

For obviously not one of us can meet the needs of every other person on this planet, and so we must trust the Lord to guide us in this, and to show us the needs, and to show us what he wants us to do to help meet those needs, whatever they might be. But we must not sacrifice the spiritual in order to just meet the physical needs, and we must not sacrifice people’s true physical needs, if we are able to help, while focusing totally on the spiritual.

For we are not just physical people and we are not just spiritual people, but we are physical and spiritual and mental and emotional, and so we have lots of different needs, which are legitimate human needs and not just wants. But even if all our needs are not met the way we would hope, and even if we have more enemies than friends, and more opposition, than support, if we are followers of Christ, we can make it with just Jesus on our side.

So, the point here is that we all need to not be selfish and self-centered and thinking only of what we want, but we need to be godly people who care about other people’s needs, and who are sensitive to the needs around us, and who pray and who ask the Lord for wisdom and direction in knowing how best to help meet those needs, which sometimes may not be more than just to pray for them, if that is all that we can do. Be someone who cares.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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