Thankful Remembrance Philippians 1:3

As Paul the apostle continued his letter to the Philippian church, he noted his company, Timothy, and to whom he was writing – the saints and the bishops and deacons. In chapter one and verse three, he tells them how thankful he is every time he remembers them. We read:

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

The verse begins, “I thank my God...” Thankfulness employs the idea of “being grateful for or appreciating” someone or something else. Paul directed his thankfulness to “God” from whom all the blessings of life ultimately flow. For Paul the apostle it was a natural flow to look to the origin of blessings as he considered the church of Philippi.

The verse goes on to say, “...upon every remembrance of you,” Let's think about what Paul wrote for a moment - “every remembrance”. Every time the people within the church of Philippi came to Paul's mind, he thanked God for them. Paul appreciated, considered, respected, and acknowledged the church in Philippi, and when the thoughts of them would come to his remembrance, he thanked the One through whom they ultimately came – God Almighty.

As we ponder Paul's words we may ask, “do we have anyone, anywhere for whom we are thankful to God every time we think about them?” Are there people in our lives that we so appreciate, respect, consider and acknowledge that we give thanks to God when they come to our minds? Thankfulness and the idea of being grateful seem to have lost their flare in recent years. Sometimes it seems that entitlement and privilege have usurped their throne. However, when Paul thought upon those whom he respected, he gave thanks to the origin of blessing – Our Heavenly Father. Maybe as we consider Paul's thankfulness for the church at Philippi it will be an inspiration for us to give thanks to God for those whom God Almighty has put within our lives, and may we be ever so grateful when we remember them.

Next time Paul will begin to share one of the main themes in his letter to Philippi, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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