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BY GLENN PEASE
CONTENTS
1. INCURABLE OPTIMISM Based on
Phil. 1:1‑11
2. JOYFUL SAINTS Based on Phil.
1:1‑11
3. EDUCATED LOVE Based on Phil.
1:1‑11
4. ENVIOUS CHRISTIANS Based on
Phil. 1:12‑18
5. GOOD OUT OF EVIL Based on
Phil. 1:12‑26
6. FANATIC FOR JESUS Based on
Phil. 1:18‑26
7. COURAGEOUS FOR CHRIST Based
on Phil. 1:19‑26
8. PARTNERS WITH GOD Based on
Phil 1:19‑26
9. THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING based on Phil. 1:3‑6
10. THE SACRIFICIAL PERSPECTIVE
Based on Phil. 2:1‑11
11. A SEASON TO BE SELFLESS
Based on Phil. 2:1‑11
12. RECIPE FOR A MERRY CHRISTMAS based on Phil. 2:1‑4
13. ENCOURAGEMENT ENCOURAGES ENCOURAGERS. 2:1f
14. THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
Based on Phil. 2:1‑11
15. THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION
Phil. 3:1‑16
16. A FUTURE WITH FOCUS Based
on Phil. 3:7‑14
17. THE GREATEST EDUCATION
Based on Phil. 3:8
18. PRESSING ON Based on Phil.
3:10‑21
19. GIVERS BY CHOICE Based on
Phil. 4:10‑20
1. INCURABLE OPTIMISM Based
on Phil. 1:1‑11
The
things that can go wrong in Christian service could fill an encyclopedia. Tal Bonham has recorded just a few. A note in the bulletin said, "Ladies
don't forget the rummage sale. It is a
good chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands." He tells of a
pastor who preached on Samson, and unknowingly called him Tarzan through the
whole sermon. Another pastor, when he
asked, who had special prayer requests to raise their hands, had his mind on
the previous business meeting, and he said, "All those opposed, same
sign." Another pastor introduced
the new choir director by saying, "We are delighted he is coming to lead
us in our sinning."
Even
Billy Graham has made his occasional slip of the tongue. The police chief of Memphis, Tenn. asked him to help promote their traffic
safety campaign. So Graham pointed to
the large neon sign which said 150 days.
"You see that sign," he said, "That means that there has
been 150 days without a fertility."
His mistake was not a fatality, but it was terribly embarrassing. Several world renowned clergymen almost fell
off the platform in hysterics. Chuck
Swindoll preaching on Joshua at Jericho meant to say, "They circumscribed
the wall," but it came out, "They circumcised the wall." It brought the house down. The point is, you have got to be an optimist
to believe God can use such a fallible creature as man to accomplish His will
on earth.
Paul was
just such an optimist, and the main message of his letter to the Philippians is
that everyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ is obligated to be an
optimist. Paul says, "Rejoice in
the Lord always," and just in case you didn't hear, he says it again,
"and again I say rejoice."
Pessimism is one of the greatest sins of the Christian, and Paul fights
that negative spirit in this letter. It
is a sin for a Christian to be ever gripping, complaining, and grumbling. Behind every silver lining some Christians
can find a dark cloud. Their pessimism
becomes a bad habit. It is like
swearing. Some people do it so often
they don't even realize they are doing it.
So it is possible to think negative so often that you don't even realize
you are being a pessimist.
Like the
persistent pessimist who grumbled to his neighbor, "My hen hatched out 12
chicks, and all of them died but 11."
The negative had distorted a positive reality into a negative
feeling. This habitual focus on the
negative leads to the unconscious prayer of the pessimist‑"Give us
this day our daily dread." If you
are going to focus your attention on the problems of life, then anyone can be a
pessimist, for problems are part of every life, and Paul the optimist was no
exception. He was not writing this
letter of joy from his yacht in the Mediterranean, or from a luxury villa in
Rome. It was written from a prison, and
not from the warden's office either, but from the dungeon. He was there unjustly for serving his Lord,
and blessing people with the good news of the Gospel. Yet, out of this unfair and unjust suffering Paul does not fire
off a bitter letter of anger, but a letter of joy and optimism about the church
and God's plan for it.
This
optimistic letter has been used of God to comfort, encourage, and challenge
Christians all through history to be optimists in a fallen world. Gene Daille, the great French expositor told
of how deeply the Indians of the new world were impressed by the white man's
ability to put marks on a piece of paper, and then convey it to another at a
great distance, and thereby, bear a message to them. Letters were magic to them.
It is marvelous to us too when you think of it. By means of letters the Apostle Paul, long
dead, can go on speaking to the church all over the world, and urge them to
rejoice always, and be incurable optimists.
Paul was the first in a long line of Christian writers who wrote
Christian literature in prison that influenced the church to be optimistic in
spite of problems.
We have
to face this reality, however. Paul had
more reason to be optimistic about the Philippians than other churches to which
he wrote. We need to see honestly that
Paul had a different relationship with this church then other churches. There was a loving friendship here that was
not the case with others. He had to
scold and blast the Corinthians, and focus on their many defects in ways that
do not happen in this letter. Paul
Rees, the one time great Twin City preacher, wrote, "Philippians gives us
a Paul we do not see, for example in Galatians or Corinthians. It is natural that we wonder if the
theologian has not been swallowed up in the friend."" Professor David
Smith calls it, "The sweetest and tenderest thing to be found in all of
Paul's correspondence."
The only
church Paul ever accepted a gift from was this church of Philippi. They supplied him many times, and he writes
in 4:16, "For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and
again when I was in need." William
Barclay, the great New Testament scholar, wrote, "Paul was closer to the
church of Philippi than to any other church." Listen to his loving terms in 4:1, "Therefore, my brothers,
you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand
firm in the Lord, dear friends!"
In one verse they are called his brothers, the ones he loves, his joy,
his crown, and his friends. Here are 5
terms of endearment in one verse.
So let's
do a reality check, and face the facts.
You are more likely to be an optimist when you are dealing with people
you love, and who love you, then with people who rub you the wrong way, and
irritate you by their indifference or opposition. The fact that Paul is most optimistic with those he most loves
and enjoys makes it clear that relationship is a key factor in the degree of
your optimism about people. Your
optimism about God and His plan should not be affected. That should be on a high degree of intensity
no matter what. But on the human level
the degree of optimism is determined by the level of Christian love that exists
between Christian people.
One of
the reasons Paul had such a good relationship with this church is because it
was mainly Gentiles, with only a few Jews, and so his enemies who poisoned the
minds of people against him did not have much of a foundation in this
church. There were only a handful of
Jews, for when Paul first came to Philippi there was even a synagogue, but the people
met by the river. Lydia, a Gentile, was
converted, and the church met in her home.
Then the Philippian jailer and his family were converted, and he too was
a Gentile, and so the church had few people that Paul's enemies could confuse.
In chapter
3 Paul still has to warn them about the Jewish legalist who would take them
back to the law, but it is a small part of his letter compared to others. So we see that where Christians are on the
same wavelength as to theological
convictions, there will be greater peace, joy, and optimism. Paul is writing as a Christian friend, and
not as a theologian. The valuable
lesson to see in all of this is that Christians are like anyone else when it
comes to relationships. When they have
good ones there is joy and positive vibes.
If there is conflict and disagreement over theology and values, there
can be a wall that makes friendship difficult if not impossible. That is why you have Christians who are
friends, and Christians who are only acquaintances. Then you have Christians that you will not even bother to get to
know better until heaven. There we will
all be able to love everyone in the body, just as Christ does. Until then, like Paul, we will have better
relationships with some than with others.
God used
the bad things that happened to Paul in Philippi to bring forth good, and so
every memory of even his bad times made him joyful. He was harassed by the demon possessed girl; he was arrested,
beaten, and thrown in prison, but God used all of this to lead the Philippian
jailer and his family to Christ. It was
a bad day in the life of Paul, with a lot of rejection and pain, but in the end
it was one of the best days of his life, for a whole pagan family was now in
the kingdom of God, and a part of the Philippian church. Paul was an optimist about what God could do
with a day where all was going wrong.
He could say amen to the poet who wrote‑
The inner side of every
cloud
Is bright and shining.
I therefore turn my clouds
about,
And always wear them inside
out
To show the lining.
Paul did
not pretend that all the bad stuff was good.
Just because God used all the bad to lead to a good end did not make the
bad good or right, and so even when it was all over, and the Philippian jailer
and his family were baptized, and the officials came to release Paul and Silas
from the jail, Paul protested the injustice of what had been done. He demanded that the magistrates who put
them in prison come and apologize for their unjust decision. Paul did not say that it was okay because
God used it for good. It was still
wrong, and a bad decision. It was an
injustice that needed to be corrected, and not merely forgotten because God
used it for good. This is important to
see, so that we can recognize there is more than one kind of optimist.
Wrong
and evil and injustice are not made good just because God can use them to
achieve good goals. They are still bad,
and those who do them are held accountable.
Evil does not become good no matter what good God can bring out of
it. It is still evil. A superficial optimist makes a major mistake
of thinking that if God uses bad things for good, then the bad things become
good. Wrong! Paul was no superficial optimist that says, all is for the best. Those who think this way deny the reality of
evil and folly in man. If all is for
the best, then there is no evil, and we are compelled to be Christian Science
followers, who say all evil is in the mind.
Paul
was not so superficial. In 2:21 Paul
complains about the self‑centeredness of Christians. Timothy is unique in his loving care for
others, but he writes, "For everyone looks out for his own interest, not
those of Jesus Christ." Paul does
not say, this is for the best, and will, in the long run, be a great
blessing. It is a defect in the body of
Christ, and it is not a good thing.
Paul did not reject the reality of problems and weaknesses in the
Christian life, as if this was the best of all possible worlds. That would be a form of blindness, and not
optimism. He could be pessimistic about
people without losing his optimism in God, and God's ability to win the final
victory even with the obstacles of sinful people.
In 4:2
he pleads with Euodia and Syntyche to settle their dispute peacefully, and asks
the church to help them do so. He does
not say, a good fight will clean the air, and is healthy for the body. Paul recognized that saints are not perfect,
and that they would get into conflict and would need to agree to disagree on
some things. He did not pretend that it
was all for the best, but said that Christians need to focus on their common
bond in Christ. There would be things in
areas of individual differences where they would never agree. Paul was optimistic that Christians could be
one in Christ even though they may disagree on many things.
Why is
it important to see this distinction between the realistic and the superficial
optimist? For one thing, it makes
people feel guilty when they hate evil, if they feel it is contrary to
Christian optimism to do so. Some
Christians delight in making other Christians feel guilty for being pessimistic
about man. This is superficial, for the
Bible is loaded with this kind of pessimism.
"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." "There is none that does
good." "All our righteousness
is as filthy rags." You could go
on for pages with such negative quotes.
A Christian has every right to be pessimistic about man apart from the
grace of God.
The
false prophets said all is well, and everything is for the best. You are God's people, and God will bless you
no matter how you disregard His laws.
This kind of superficial optimism is what lead to the judgment of God's
people time and time again. It is evil
to be a shallow optimist and seduce people into believing all is right when it
is not. Paul could, as an optimist,
still face the reality of a fallen world where plenty is wrong that he did not
like, and he deals with it even in this most optimistic of his letters. In 2:27 Paul writes of Epaphroditus,
"Indeed he was ill, and almost died.
But God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me, to spare
me sorrow upon sorrow." Paul was
not so gullible as to fall for the "Everything is best,"
philosophy. He says that he would have
cried his heart out had his friend died, for it would have been a tragic loss,
and he would not be comforted by some superficial theory that God needed him
more than he did. It would have broken
his heart because even an incurable optimist recognizes that evil and sorrow
are a real part of life, and you can't whitewash it with a pretense that it is
all for the best. Life is full of
things that are not for the best. That
is why there is a Gospel to give men hope of escape from this fallen world, and
to be in a world where all will be for the best.
Rejoice
in the Lord he repeats over and over, but he also says in 3:2, "Watch out
for the dogs‑those men who do evil..." He does not say rejoice in the world, the flesh, and the devil,
which are the source of endless problems.
The optimist still has his pessimistic side, for the world of evil and
folly is a temporary reality that has to be faced. The saints are fallible; the world has fallen; and the devil is
alive and well. The Christian who
believes all is best in such a world is what we call a superficial optimist,
where he denies the reality of the very battle of good and evil. This is as superficial as the little ditty
that goes‑
The optimist fell ten
stories,
And at each window bar
He shouted to the people,
"I'm alright so far!"
This is
as unrealistic as the man who, without a dime to his name, went into a fancy
restaurant and ordered an oyster dinner with the hope of finding a pearl in an
oyster to pay for the meal. It is as
superficial as the woman who reported her neighbor had been shot in a
fight. "Were the wounds
fatal," her friend asked.
"Only two of them," she said.
"The other three were just flesh wounds." This is the kind of person who will say
everything is for the best. Paul would
not, for his was not a shallow optimism.
His was a deep optimism that says, even in a fallen world where much is
wrong, and far from the best, God is going to achieve His purpose, and I am
delighted to be part of His team, for they will be the ultimate winners.
Paul's
optimism was based on Christ and His victory over all the forces of evil. It was not superficial like that of the
student who was asked, "Did you pass?" He responded, "No, but I was the highest of those who
failed." Paul could say, "I
have failed. I am the least of the
Apostles, and not worthy to be an Apostle, but I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me." He was
a realistic optimist who could be pessimistic about man, himself, and even the
church, but always rejoicing because he was optimistic about Christ and His
victory.
Optimism
is based on the broader scope. The detail of the moment may be a pain, and a
cloud on you day that rains on your parade. Pessimism is based on the negative
realities of the moment. Optimism is based on the positive realities that will
be forever. In Christ, the positives will last, and all negatives will vanish.
You need to see everything in the light of the long run. Someone said that
maybe all your dreams have not come true, but then neither have all your
nightmares. You have gone through a lot of trials, but you have come through
the storms into the light again, and have enjoyed the day after many a troubled
night. It is the long range look that keeps you smiling when you face temporary
pain. Some humorous poet put it‑
It is easy enough to be
happy
When life is a bright, rosy
wreath,
But the man worth while
Is the man who can smile
When the dentist is filling
his teeth.
Christian optimism is based on the big picture, and is dependent upon
patience. Love is patient, and patience is one of the great Christian virtues,
for only the patient can live on the long run level. The impatient are short
run people, and they are pessimistic, for in the short run you have to focus on
the failure and folly of man, rather than on the faithfulness of God.
Pessimists see only the viciousness of the battle, and not the victory
that makes the battle worth it. A neighbor said to a father who kept bailing
his son out of trouble, "If that were my boy, I would forget him."
The father replied, "If he were your boy I would forget him too, but he is
my boy." Love makes you more patient and longsuffering because love makes
you more optimistic. Take love out of any relationship, and you can count on
pessimism taking over.
Love is
what made Paul so optimistic in relation to the Philippians. Where love abounds
optimism will thrive, and that is why Paul writes in v. 9, "..and this is
my prayer that your love may abound
more and more..." Christians who love are Christians who are fun to be
with, for they are, like Paul, incurable optimists. We cannot be like Paul in
many ways, but we can all be like him in this way. We can all be Christians who
are fun to be with. Ask yourself, am I a Christian who is fun to be with
because I focus on the goals of the true, and the beautiful, and I tend to
rejoice in life even when it is full of problems? Or, am I one of those who is
a gloomy Gus, or cloudy Claudia who tends to rain on everybody's parade?
This
letter of Philippians will change you if you let it, for it is the most joyful
book of the Bible. Chuck Swindoll's book on Philippians is titled Laugh Again.
In it he seeks to get Christians to stop being sour pusses, and start being the
kind of joyful people God wants them to be. We all need to pray that God will
help us learn the essence of this letter and learn to be incurable optimists.
2. JOYFUL SAINTS Based on
Phil. 1:1‑11
Roger
Fredricksen, a well‑known pastor in my hometown of Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, wrote a book titled God Loves The Dandelions. In it he tells of how he and his wife Ruth were at a small cabin
on the lake in Minnesota. They had just
finished reading the book of Philippians with all its powerful statements on
being able to do all things through Christ, and to have the peace of God which
passes understanding. Roger cracked
opened his boiled egg to enjoy his breakfast, and it came out watery and
raw. He was irritated, for he has a
built in prejudice against half‑boiled eggs. He could not, for the life of him, understand why Ruth could not
watch the time when it comes to boiling eggs.
He had
just thanked God for the food, and so he tried to be consistent and not
gripe. He scooped away the uncooked
part, and tried to make the best of it.
But he was peeved, and then he was angered at himself for being so
peeved over a bit of egg. He left the
table in silence, and he went off to write about new life in the church. It was so hypocritical, for here he was all
bent out of shape over an egg. It was
so petty it was pathetic. He got up and
went back to the kitchen where he blurted out, "Ruth, the egg got to
me. I don't understand myself. It's a beautiful glorious day, and I'm hung
up on an egg. Will you forgive
me?" Together they had a good
laugh, and they went on to have a good day.
A saint
is not a person who never gets disturbed over trifles, but one who, when
disturbed, confesses, and seeks for a Christ honoring solution to his or her
weakness. The Christian does not differ
from the world so much in what life brings to them. They differ in what they bring to life. The Christian faces the same trials and temptations, and
frustrations as anyone else, but they are to deal with them with a transformed
mind, that looks for a way of escape from evil, and a way to overcome evil with
good. The saint is not a figure with a
halo, as portrayed in stained glass windows, but just an ordinary human being
who recognizes he or she is chosen by God to be different and how they respond
to life's pressures. Not all saints are
equal, of course, and some do a much better job than others.
The
Philippians, for example, were superior in many ways to other Christians in the
New Testament. Even the bad Christians
are called saints, for all who trust in Jesus as Savior are saints. That is,
they are separated unto God for His purpose.
Anything, or anyone, who is separated unto God's service is called
holy. Pots and pans in the temple were
holy because they were separated unto the service of God. People are holy, not just when they are
morally pure, and without sin, but when they are called to be servants of
God. The saints are servants, and all
servants of God are saints. It is not a
state of perfection that makes a saint.
It is a position. If a person is
in Christ, that is, they are a part of the body of Christ, they are, by their
very position, automatically saints.
They are people separated from the world to be servants in the kingdom
of God.
If you
are born in the U.S. you are an American.
If you
are born in Mexico, you are a Mexican.
If you are born again, you are a saint.
There
are only saints in Christ, and all the world is divided into those who are
saints and those who are not. Christians will often say they are not saints,
and they mean by this that they are far from perfect, but the fact is, if you
are in Christ, you are a saint. You might be a weak saint, or fallen saint, or
a baby saint, but you are a saint. If you are not a saint, you are not a
Christian, for all Christians are saints. A saint is not determined by what
they are, but by where they are. If they are in Christ, that is the bottom
line. The degree of holiness varies tremendously, but all who are in Christ are
equally saints. They may not be equally saintly, but they are all saints. There
is no term for half‑saints, or quarter saints, or any other percentage. A
saint is a saint, just as an American is an American. An American can be one
who loves his country, or one indifferent to his country, and even one who is
hostile to his country, but all are equally Americans. Likewise, all saints are
equally saints, but they may not be equally like Christ at all.
Paul
thought of the Philippian saints as the cream of the crop, and so we can learn
much about being a saint by examining what kind of Christians these Philippians
were. The outstanding characteristic of these people was their joyful spirit.
The idea that a saint is one who is sad and somber has no basis in the New
Testament. The best saints are those who are delighted with life and the chance
to enjoy all that God has made possible. Paul is so full of joy over these
Christians because they add joy to his life and joy to the world. They are fun
people to love and serve because they show their appreciation with a joyful
response.
Paul wanted
to go to heaven, but he also wanted to stay and serve these saints, and he was
convinced God would let him stay and he writes in 1:25‑26, "I know
that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and
joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ
Jesus will overflow on account me."
God left Paul on earth because there was a colony of heaven already here
in the saints of Philippi, and Paul could get a good taste of the essence of
heaven right here by serving and growing with this joyful body of
believers.
The
essence of heaven is joy, and the best small group; the best Sunday School
class, and the best church is one where the saints enjoy one another. This is what makes the Philippian church the
best in the New Testament. Paul urges
them on to perfection, however, so as not to loose what they have, which is a
taste of heaven on earth. He writes in
2:3‑4, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also
to the interests of others." The
essence of the ideal church is the same as the essence of the ideal marriage,
or any other ideal relationship. It is,
love one another, and give each other the attention and support they need to be
joyful. Where joy reigns, Jesus is
Lord, and you have the very best atmosphere for the growing of saints.
If you
pay no attention to the joy of people in your group, church, or family, you cease to be the servant of Christ in
that context. Where Christ is served
there will be joy, and the saints will be at their best level of sainthood. There is an ancient story about St. Anthony
who lived in the desert alone, and he felt superior to the rest of
Christians. God told him to go to
Jerusalem, and he would find a better saint.
When he got there he was told to look up Cobbler Conrad, and when he did
he found him pounding on a pair of shoes.
Anthony asked, "What do you do that so pleases the Lord?" "I have done very little," he
replied. "I just mend shoes, but I
mend each pair as though they belonged to Jesus Himself. I mend them as I would for Him my
Savior. That is all I do."
St.
Anthony left Conrad the Cobbler, and he went back to his desert tent, and there
with a more humble spirit he prayed, "Now, I see, Lord God. I have set up myself as a saint. But Conrad sees something of Christ in every
man, woman, and child. That is true
sainthood. That is true perfection in
thy work. I shall leave this desert
place where I have isolated myself from human kind, and I shall go down into
the city slums and serve my fellow man.
There shall I be a saint, indeed, worthy of Thy fellowship." The best saints are not those in isolation,
but those, like the Philippians, who serve one another, and add joy to the
lives of those about them.
Are you
a saint who brings joy wherever you go, or one who brings joy whenever you
go? Christians tend toward one or the
other category. Those that others enjoy
having around do so because they add to the joy of being a Christian. Paul could not wait to get back with the
saints of Philippi, for it was pleasant; it was fun, and it was a joy to be
with them. They were saints who knew
how to flavor this fallen world with a taste of heaven's joy. That is why Paul could write, "I thank
God every time I remember you."
Paul had nothing but pleasant memories of being with them. He showers them with compliments, for he is
doing for them what they did for him.
They were such a source of encouragement, and he wants to be that to
them as well. It makes you feel good to
know that you make others feel good, and so Paul tells them forcefully, you
make me feel good.
We all
leave an impression in the minds of others.
Will people remember us as one who added joy and pleasure to their
lives? Will they be grateful to God
when they remember us? Or will they
remember how hard we were to get along with, and how seldom we added to their
joy? Do we have Pauls in our in our
lives who say thanks to God when they remember us? That is what being a saint is all about. It is about being a channel through which
God can pour into this world some of the joy of heaven.
This letter
of Paul teaches us clearly that the essence of Christian joy; the essence of
optimism; the essence of tasting heaven on earth, is one word‑relationships. Listen to Paul again in 1:4‑5, "I
always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel." In 1:25‑26 we read, "I will
continue with you for your joy. Your
joy will overflow on account of me."
In 2:29 they are urged to, "welcome Ephaphroditus in joy." In 4:1 he calls them, "His joy and
crown," and he repeats it, "Rejoice in the Lord." All the joy of this letter revolves around
the relationships of himself and Timothy; he and Ephaphroditus; he and the
Philippians, and them and Ephaphroditus.
A saint is one who stands in a special relationship to God. A joyful saint is one who stands in a special
relationship to the family of God.
Relationships are the foundation for most, if not all, of the values of
life such as, family values; social values; national values, and you name it. In both the secular and sacred realms of
life relationships are the foundation.
It was
the worst weather in the entire world, and yet six men spent 220 days in it in
1989. They made the first unmechanized
trek across Antartica. Will Steger lead
this group which had to brave 2 months of storms with temperatures as low as 43
below zero, and winds up to 90 miles per hour.
With only dog sleds and skies they traveled 3,741 miles. Just 2 days before they finished their
journey 32 year old Keizo Funatsu from Japan, the youngest member of the
expedition, went out to feed the huskies.
Even though it was just a few yards away, a blinding snow storm caused
him to loose his sense of direction. He
knew he was in trouble, and he took immediate measures for survival. Here is what he wrote in his journal.
"Once I was in my snow ditch, blowing snow covered me in
5, 10
seconds....I could breathe through a cavity close to my
body but
the snow was blowing inside my clothes, and I was
wet. I knew my teammates would
be looking for me. I
believed
I would be found; it was just a matter of time. I had
to
believe that....
Very few
people have that kind of experience, lost in the blizzard.
I said
to myself, 'Settle down, try and enjoy this.'
In my snow
ditch I truly
felt Antarctica. With the snow and
quiet covering
me, I
felt like I was in mother's womb. I
could hear my heart
beat‑bomb,
bomb, bomb‑like a small baby's.
My life seemed
very
small compared to nature, to Antarctica."
Two hours
later the others realized the others realized he was missing, and they began a
search. After 4 hours they had to stop
because of darkness and the fierceness of the storm. At 4 in the morning they were up searching again, and at 6 in the
morning Keizo heard them calling his name.
He emerged from his snowy burial, and cried, "I am alive! I am alive!" The most macho men on the planet stood there crying. Will Steger reported, "Finding Keizo
alive was the greatest relief I have ever known."
When men
faced all the obstacles that these men faced together, they developed a
relationship that is deep, and which unites them as a unbreakable team. This is what we see with Paul and Timothy. They are such two different people. Paul is old and Timothy is young, and yet,
they become one of the great pairs of the Bible, like David and Jonathan. Timothy was like a son to Paul, and he calls
him his son in the faith, for he led him to Christ. He was so precious to Paul that out of the 13 letters he wrote in
the New Testament, ten of them include Timothy as his partner. We see it here in the first verse of
Philippians. In this letter Paul exalts
Timothy as one of a kind. In 2:19 he
says that he hopes to send Timothy to them, and then in 2:20 he writes, "I
have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own
interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
He goes on to say that Timothy has proved himself in his service.
The
point is, everybody needs somebody who is truly a friend, and a loyal
companion. Paul could not have done
what he did without Timothy. That is
true for the Will Steger team, and of every team in history, including
Christian teams. Why does Paul almost always include Timothy, or in a few
cases, other companions in his letters?
A man does not need help writing a letter. A lot of books have two authors who work together, but a letter
can be the work of just one easily. Yet
Paul includes Timothy frequently as if he could not write a letter alone.
This common characteristic of Paul's letters is itself a valuable lesson. Paul is saying that he is dependant upon others to accomplish the will of God. He is no loner, but needs the help of other members of the body to succeed