Paul the apostle commended
the Philippian church for their care of his afflictions while he was
traveling and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. He told them they
were the only church that attended to his needs, and he gave the
specific example of a time when he was in Thessalonica and they
ministered to him. In chapter four and verse seventeen of his letter
to the church of Philippi, Paul gives the reason Paul is so pleased
with their help where he wrote:
Not because I desire a
gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
The
verse begins, “Not because I desire a gift:...” Paul told
the Philippians that he learned to be content in whatever state he
found himself, so his receiving from them was “not because I
desire a gift”. Although Paul was delighted that the church
ministered to him, their giving to him was not because he needed to
receive an offering. In other words, it was not as though Paul was
saying, “Send your prayers to Jesus, and send your money to me”.
Paul's joy over their giving was much more than that selfish
motivation.
The
verse continues, “...but I desire fruit that may abound to your
account.” Paul wasn't joyous over the Philippians' giving to
him because of his personal gain, “but” because he desired
“fruit that may abound” to their “account”. In
other words, when the Philippians gave to Paul, the credit for their
giving benefited them. The church members received the “fruit”
of their giving, and it went on their account.
As we
think about these words of Paul, we learn of a different accounting
system spiritually. Whenever we give toward the ministry of people
who are sharing the gospel, it records to our “account”.
In other words, we receive spiritual credit for what we give. There
are many people in the world who may desire to be a missionary or go
to the mission field, however, because of physical, economical or
other conditions they cannot go. Yet, if they give and minister to
those who are in the field, it is as though they too are in the
ministry as far as spiritual credit is concerned. Paul desired “fruit
that may abound” to the Philippians' “account”, and
if we consider this very long, we, too, will give gifts to those who
share the gospel throughout the world that we may have “fruit
that abounds” to our “accounts” as well. May the
Lord Jesus help us to see the benefits of giving to His servants of
the gospel.
Next
time Paul tells the Philippians that he received their package and
writes of some specifics that he found within it,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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