My Crown 05/06/2010
 
With its strong theme of joy which the apostle Paul encourages in the midst of his own suffering, his letter to the Philippians is one of my favourites in the New Testament. Some think that the Philippians were one of Paul’s favourite congregations. Paul had supported himself and refused assistance from other churches, but he accepted support and encouragement from the Philippians. He refers to them twice as his beloved and nine times as his brothers and sisters .This is amazing when we realize that these Gentiles were the very ones who years previous, Paul would have called ‘blasphemers’ and dragged them out of their homes to be killed. In his letter composed from prison Paul calls the Gentiles his beloved brethren and his joy.

In 4:1, Paul also calls them his crown. At this time, there were a few different crowns that Paul may have been referring to. There was the crown made of wild olive leaves won by an athlete at an event. There was the crown which guests of honour were crowned with by friends at a banquet. A crown can also denote a trophy. Paul didn’t long for money and possessions to make Him feel rich and his life worthwhile. Rather it was the people who he invested himself in that he considered to be the sparkling jewels of his life. They were his reward. Paul held them up as proof that his service was effective and his life was fruitful. He was encouraged by their love and their worshipful lives, and he only wanted to see them to continue to do well, live in harmony together, persevere and grow closer to God. Paul loved these people whom he had brought to Christ and his words express a closeness to them like that of family. It is in that very context of love and commitment that Paul writes to them and calls them his crown.

Are there people who we could call our crown? Are there those who we have poured ourselves into for the sake of them growing in their walk with God? Perhaps not yet, but even today we could make decisions that would set us on such a path of selfless love. We could pray for God to put people in our lives who we could help and encourage, and to open our eyes to the people he has already placed around us. Most of all, we could pray for the desire and divine help to love people over ourselves and over things.
 


Comments

Michelle
05/07/2010 09:03

I remember Brian once talking about how important it is to invest in someone. Not as a "project" to change, but just having at least one person in your life who you pour your love into. To give support and friendship. I spent too long looking for people to help me feel loved. Now I see that it is by loving people that we experience real joy and relationship.

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