I think we all would agree that relationships are tricky and complicated, even among Christians. It’s easy to let people be the reason that our joy is diminished. That’s why we need Jesus Christ to be not just our source of joy, but also the One who links us together in common salvation and a common work and a common mission.
There’s a little musical chorus that has often been sung in some churches just before the congregation exits and leaves the building. It’s called “Blest Be the Tie”. The words were written by an English pastor in the late 1700s named John Fawcett. It is a poem he wrote for his congregation about the value of Christian fellowship. The familiar first lines read as follows:
“Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love!
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.”
Pastor Fawcett was taking joy in his relationship with the people he ministered to and who labored with him for the sake of the gospel. The relationship he had with these dear Christians on earth was so blessed and unified that he compared it to what it would be like in heaven – “the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.” Don’t we yearn for that even today?
In his letter to the Philippian believers, Paul speaks of their “partnership in the gospel” (Phil. 1:5). And he calls them “brothers” eight times in the letter, which shows their bond in Christ as the family of God.
Paul had so many positive memories of the believers in Philippi: their turning to Christ in salvation, their labor in ministry with him, support of his missionary journeys by prayer and financial giving, even a visit by one of their own members when he was in prison in Rome. All these actions and much more filled Paul’s heart with thanksgiving and joy so that he wrote, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Phil. 1:3). And notice that it wasn’t just a few of his closest friends he was thankful for. Paul prayed with joy for all of them – “always in every prayer of mine for you all” (v. 4). When was the last time you thanked the Lord for every single person by name in your church?
Those who are truly saved love those who are saved. They stand by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and those who labor among them. This is an unexplainable, undeniable love that God places in the hearts of His people. This is the kind of love that should mark the people of God.
Are you the kind of person about which other people can say, “My memories of you cause me to thank God”? Paul thanked God for these people, and prayed for them “with joy.”
You can reclaim joy, that inward delight in God’s work in your life, by thinking of all the precious saints of God who have prayed for you, supported you, stood by you and encouraged you as you served the Lord. Don’t lose your memory of them. Thinking of them and thanking God for them will bring a joy to your heart.
