Developing an attitude of gratitude #9: giving thanks for those around us

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!  Philippians 4:1

What way?

Well, we have to look back to chapter 3 for the answer to that question. Of course, when Paul wrote this letter, it did not have chapter divisions. Those have been put in for our benefit. However, they do interrupt the flow somewhat!

This is what I wrote about the end of chapter 3 –

My citizenship is in heaven. Now. Already. I already belong to that new world order. I have the capacity within me to live in this new way, this new truth, this new life now. This is what it is to shine as a star, to live as a role model of Jesus’ resurrection power and restorative love right here, right now. 

In church yesterday, my vicar was explaining that Jesus’ kingdom is not an upside down kingdom. Quite the opposite. Jesus came to turn everything the right way up again, to restore the world to how it was created, to invite us to join him in this new world order.

This is the way Paul’s referring to here.

Stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends.

We do not stand alone. We stand together. That’s the calling. It’s easy to know all about love and think we have it sorted until we’re called to work alongside someone who really gets under our skin. Our faith is to be worked out in community, in relationship. There’s no getting away from that.

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.  Philippians 4:2-3

Paul pleads with these women to be of the same mind in the Lord, because they are not. If they were, he would not need to include this paragraph in his letter! Their disagreement has not gone unnoticed. And Paul knows that they need help in resolving this issue. They’re not going to find reconciliation alone. They need others to support them in this. These are good people, people who have served God faithfully. But disagreements can flare up in the most unlikely of places.

When our new vicar first arrived, he spent many months listening to people. He uncovered many disagreements that had festered under the surface for years, many broken relationships and festering resentments. He worked patiently and faithfully with those involved to seek reconciliation. Two women who had not talked to each other for years finally forgave each other and moved on. He understood that a body of broken relationships is not a body at all. And that some people need help, support and encouragement in seeking reconciliation.

Sometimes people leave a church due to irreconcilable differences and maybe there is a sigh of relief that peace has been restored. But actually, this is not peace. Absence of conflict is not peace. The issue is still there in the hearts and minds of those involved. Don’t fall into the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ trap. Even if an individual is now attending a different church, the hurt and resentment can still be eating away inside of them. Let’s work patiently and faithfully for reconciliation, believing that in God, all things are possible.

Because relationships matter. All relationships matter. It is in relationships that the love of God is revealed. ALL the relationships we are involved in matter. All the encounters we have every single day matter. Each one is the opportunity of showing the love of God in action. And this is so much more than just tolerating certain individuals. It’s about learning to love them as they are, to value them as God values them.

Paul talks about these people he’s writing to as his dear friends, his brothers and sisters, his joy and crown. Is that how we view the person who sits next to us in church each Sunday? Or the person who sits next to us on the bus on in the waiting room at the doctor’s surgery? Paul values each individual. He loves them and longs for them. He treasures them because God treasures them. They are made in the image of God. He gives thanks for each person he comes into contact with.

And so here we are again. Gratitude. There’s no escaping it, is there? I believe if we start with an attitude of gratitude towards each person that we meet, we will start to see them with different eyes. If we really valued each individual as God values each individual, no way would we ever talk to them the way we do, or talk about them the way we do, or treat them the way we do.

Thank you for being you.