Your Care of Me Philippians 4:10

As Paul the apostle continued his letter to the Philippians, he included instructions for the church members concerning anxiousness, cognitive thoughts, and following his example in their Christian walk. In Philippians chapter four and verse ten Paul begins to share his gratefulness to the church members for their care of him where we read:

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me has flourished again; wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity.

The verse begins, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me has flourished again;” Paul “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” as he wrote to the Philippians concerning their following his example because the church members ministered to him. We can almost picture the joy that came over Paul's face as he received the items sent to him. We recall from an earlier teaching that the reason for Paul's writing was because their pastor Epaphroditus came to visit Paul while he was in the Roman prison, and evidently he brought with him some gifts from the church. Paul said, “your care of me has flourished again” which means “to shoot up, sprout again, and grow green again”, and like a perpetual crop of abundant fruit, the church members of Philippi were learning to care for others.

The verse goes on to say, “wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity.” Paul points out that the church members “were also careful” which is the Greek phrase “phroneō kai phroneō” and means “to direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, and to strive for”, and although they desired to care for Paul, they “lacked opportunity” to do so. Oh what a wonderful example of a church caring for their minister is demonstrated by the church of Philippi.

As we think about Paul's commendation to the Philippians for their care for him, we can be inspired by two things. First, Paul “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” that they did so. Paul knew the Philippians' response toward him was as a result of their understanding and growth in their relationship with the Lord. Without their intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul would not have been high on the church members' priority list. Secondly, we can think about what the Philippians did. They cared for Paul in such a manner that he noted it, and he called attention to it by saying it “flourished again” which meant this was not the first time they ministered to him. This perpetual care of him was not only indicative of their care for Paul, but it also indicated their growth in their relationship with God.

Perhaps we will examine our own lives and determine how we care for our ministers. Would our ministers “rejoice in the Lord greatly” over our care for them? Would they say our care for them has “flourished again”, or would they have a difficult time discovering when we have blessed them? Maybe we have “lacked opportunity” to minister to them and will be inspired by the Philippians' actions, or perhaps we will learn that ministering to others is a direct reflection of just how much we have grown in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Whichever the case, may the Lord Jesus be blessed by our purposing to care for others in His name.

Next time Paul tells the Philippians how he has learned to be content, 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.