IF THERE IS ANY

Paul, an apostle, wrote to the Philippian church,

“If there is any encouragement in Christ,
if any comfort of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any compassion and mercy, 
then fulfill my joy and be like-minded,
having the same love,
being in unity with one mind. 
Let nothing be done out of strife or conceit,
but in humility let each esteem the other better than himself. 
Let each of you look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others.” (2:1-4)

The rather odd thing to me in this text is how it starts: ‘If there is any…’ He then lists the major five of ‘if there is any’… encouragement, love, fellowship of the Spirit, compassion and mercy. It signals clearly that the union with Christ was far from complete and mature. The next part sounds like an encouragement to second-graders… “Complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.” (2:2-4)

“If there is any encouragement in Christ”….

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus