Trending
Philippians 2:1-2, "If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, to make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."
Whether we look at the conditions in the world, the degree of unrest in our country or even the craziness of our individual lives, we all look for peace and happiness. It sometimes seems that peace and happiness are very difficult goals to have, because there's so much going on that's beyond our control... The second verse above seems to sum up what we all hope to achieve. We want someone to... "make my joy complete."... This would be achievable, if we all could... "be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."
This doesn't mean for us all to think alike, and act alike, like robots. God made us all different so that this would not happen. This passage means for us all to be driven with similar goals in terms of how we live our lives, interact with each other and, most of all, interact with God. To do this, we need to follow the guidance of God, turn to God for help in following that guidance and to help each other to do the same. Now, granted, this is all difficult for us, and the reason it's difficult is referred to at the very beginning of this reading.
The key words in this passage are... "If, then"... yes, those two little words... These words qualify what comes next... We then hear what is necessary for us to be happy, and for our joy to be complete. It says that we should accept that we gain comfort from the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives... We should welcome love of God and one another, and not see love as a burden, but as a gift… We should feel the Holy Spirit within us, and accept the Spirit as our partner in daily life... We should embrace the affection of others, especially when we're in need of comfort.
The words... "if, then"... refer us to what is necessary for us to follow what comes next... What is necessary, is faith... belief in God... and acceptance of Jesus Christ... This is something that so many of us have, but we may not lean on it, or do anything to help it to blossom in our lives. This passage focuses more on the results of having faith, but the inference is that we need to grow our faith. In doing so, we then provide for the presence of joy in our lives.
Now we can't expect everyone that we encounter in our daily lives to think in the way that I described (but you would be surprised if you knew how many do), but we can help more people to do so. As each person comes to think this way, we increase the impact in the world of those of us who do think as God wishes us to... and we may not even realize it.
I said at the beginning of this article, that we all look for peace and happiness. It's not always obvious where we should turn to gain it. This reading from Philippians today shows us that God will bring us the peace and happiness that we desire. May God's peace and comfort be with us all.
-- -- -- --
Finding Faith is written by area pastors. This week's column comes from Pastor Gary Shumway of Garman Lutheran Church in Pine Creek and Grace Lutheran Church in Jersey Shore.