After contemplating the possibility that he was to be poured out like a drink offering (v.17), Paul now shares his hope to send one or two messengers to Philippi.
He writes that he hopes in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy (v.19), and also that he trusts in the Lord that shortly he himself would go (v.24). Despite being used so powerfully and evidently by the Lord, Paul still trusts in God’s timing and plans and not his own.
We see that Paul is sending his best to Philippi (vv.21-22), and that he expects to be cheered by news of the church in return. Evidently, then, this wasn’t a problem church like that at Corinth (2 Corinthians 12.2-3).
Are people cheered
by news of you?
Should a messenger be sent to visit you and report back, would the report of your life here bring joy and encouragement and a reflection that you are not seeking your own interests, but those of Jesus Christ? Would the report show your proven worth?
Honestly, truthfully, if a report of your Christian life would not encourage those who read it, it may be time to stop, think, pause, and pray, and think why? What am I doing that I wouldn’t want sharing with others? What am I doing that would not encourage believers in another part of the world?
Aren’t you inspired when you read of the steadfast determination, the selflessness, the dedication to the welfare of others found in other believers? If you are, yet don’t find yourself doing anything of the sort, it’s time to take your faith life seriously and make sure that news of you will cheer other believers!
James Travis 