Hold Me In Your Heart

Children at a church gathering in Nigeria. 

Scripture

Phil. 1:⁷ It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

Observation

There is such warmth in this passage of scripture. Paul’s affection, which is seen as being reciprocated is sensed throughout this passage. With a heart filled with love he expresses his gratitude for these who are distant from him physically, but near to him in heart. There is a foreshadowing here of the sharing of one mind between Paul and the Philippians, which he will later admonish between his readers and Christ. What we are seeing on earth, is possible between earth and heaven. 

Holding one another in the heart is another picture of the mutual interpenetration of the heart of God with the heart of humankind. The whole reason this is possible is because Jesus united himself to human flesh and thus created a doorway into the heart of the Triune God. Paul holds the Philippians in his heart, just as God holds reconciled humanity in his heart. The result of this participation was grace that overflowed both in financial support for Paul, but also in an anticipation of their own future suffering. This was an all-encompassing mutual indwelling in all things pertaining to the gospel. Paul is not the one on trial — it is the gospel itself. Therefore, every believer is to be “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15)

Application

Paul’s physical distance from the Philippians was no barrier to their ability to hold one another in their hearts. If anything, the distance had created an intentionality in connection. When the church in Philippi heard about Paul’s suffering, they too suffered. It broke their hearts to imagine that he had been imprisoned and so they responded. Never considered a wealthy church, they took up an offering for their beloved Apostle, sending one of their members all the way to Rome to deliver their gift of love. His suffering was their suffering, and so they had to make sure they cared for his needs. In the same way, if he was to defend the gospel, so they were to defend the gospel. Holding one another in the heart led to mutual love, suffering, and mission. 

We are to model this kind of mutual affection, beginning with our relationship with the Lord. The same mind that is in Christ is to be in us. The same love that is in God is to be found in us as we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. At the same time we are to have mutual love for those within the church. As we can see from the words of Paul, this is not an individualistic faith, but a mutually submissive faith to be reflected in community. 

When we think of the church community we can think of our local community, but then the broader community as well. As I write, we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and it may be getting worse. Actually, in the area where I live the infections are not getting worse, but the economic impact is only beginning. Little by little people are losing their jobs and the longer this continues, the likelihood of return to work diminishes. Those who are the most vulnerable are those who have been our front-line workers, and the hourly wage-earners. What does it mean to hold these brothers and sisters in our hearts? 

In the United States many people have received “stimulus” checks from the government. For many this is a welcome gift, but for some, it was not necessary. What if those of us who are not in need of this assistance were to willingly give it as an offering of love to a fund at our local churches, or our global church to be shared with those who are suffering those most during this season? This is what my husband and I have chosen to do; to tithe to the local church off of this stimulus, and to give the remainder away because, if I am to hold my brothers and sisters in my heart, then I must share. 

But our brothers and sisters are not only be in our local church. I have had the privilege of traveling the world and meeting those who have become a part of our global church family. Because of the intentional mission work of the church we have a connection to the continent of Africa, the children of India and Bangladesh, the Amazon jungle, Europe and Asia, and into the highlands of Central America. These are not just places, but look closely and you’ll see the faces of those whom we have chosen to love, support and take into our hearts. There’s an old adage that when North America catches a cold, the rest of the world catches pneumonia. Right now, I know that we are concerned about our own financial future, but while we mull over the potential consequences to our retirement account, we have brothers and sisters who may be facing starvation. Have we let them into our heart? (Here's a quick link to give to the Nazarene Compassion Fund) 

The church in Philippi was not wealthy and had their own challenges, but they were so connected to Paul that they had to do everything in their power to care for him, his ministry, and theirs — for they were inexplicably connected. We have said that we hold our neighbor in our heart. Would our actions reflect that we do? We have said that we believe in the work of missions — do we? We’ve been generous to share out of our overflow, but what happens when we are all in need? The response of the Philippians was a confirmation of their faith. What will be said of us in this season? 

Will we really hold our brothers and sisters in our heart?  

Prayer

Lord, may your Spirit unite us in heart with the least of these and may our actions follow your work of grace. Amen.