That Love May Abound

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”—Philippians 1:9-11 (NKJV)

Paul’s epistle “to all the saints…bishops and deacons…at Philippi was filled with gratitude, joy, and instructions for the Christian life. And his prayer that “their love may abound still more and more” conveyed his love for these Christian brothers and sisters and his confidence that they could, with God’s help, fulfill what he prayed for them.

The abounding love for which he prayed was to be that kind of love filled with knowledge and discernment. The Philippian Church, unlike several others in New Testament days, needed very little correction. They were not buffeted about by false doctrines or plagued by internal conflicts. The letter has sometimes been called the epistle of joy because of the characteristics of the people within the church that made Paul grateful and joyful..

That all churches may “abound in love,’ grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ways; have discernment or understanding of what is right and wrong, ‘approve the things that are excellent,’ (that is, not settling for ‘second best’ or distractions that get us off track in the Christian life), to be sincere and without offense, and that fruits of righteousness (fruits of the Spirit [see Galatians 5:22-23]) might be the result of living the Christian life. And all of this ‘abounding in love’ is for the praise and glory of God, never for selfish purposes.

These are high standards for abounding in love. These are the ways Jesus has set for us. May we “press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14).

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Sunday, February 21, 2010

To Live is Christ, To Die Is Gain

“According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” –Philippians 1:20-21

As I write this, Lord, my heart is heavy, broken, in fact. I have just returned from Georgia War Veterans’ Home where I have consulted with the Care Plan Group on the direction to take with Grover’s care from here until his earthly life shall end and he shall, indeed, be able to say with Paul in Philippians 1:21: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!”

I’ve had fifteen or more years to prepare for this time, Lord, as I have seen my beloved in the throes of dread Alzheimer’s. How I thought, on its first diagnosis, that we could win against it! “Love conquers all,” I kept telling myself, and with the Love of God, always with us, His healing power, my love for Grover and his for me—an undying commitment—we could certainly be victorious over Alzheimer’s.

And, in a way, we have been Lord. You’ve given us strength for all these years. Our needs have been supplied in wonderful and unexpected ways. I can’t thank you enough, Lord. But then I had to accept that some things just don’t have a cure on this earth. They are relegated to the heavenly realm where all is life and health, joy and blessing, understanding and acceptance. And that time for him is nearer than I ever thought it could be. In fact, Lord, there have been a few times when I’ve been quite ill in these fifteen years that I thought I might precede him in death. But here I am, still a survivor!

Today I learned that feeding Grover and his becoming choked/strangled is not good. How long does it take someone to die when he isn’t fed? We won’t do a feeding tube. Grover made sure of that when he still had his right mind and signed and legalized his Living Will.

But Lord, my heart is heavier than lead, borne down as though a great stone is crushing it. I thought I could be brave, Lord. You are here with me! I feel Your presence. But I hurt so badly, Lord! Wipe my tears and take some of this grief that weighs like a gray boulder against my heart!

Hospice has been notified. They will come and help Grover, help me, help Cynthia and Keith and all the other close family members to know what we can expect and how the end might be. How kind the aides and helpers were to me this morning at GWVH when I couldn’t help but cry! They were Your arms around my shoulders, Lord. Thank you!

Oh, Lord! I need you more than ever in the days ahead!
Help me not to be ashamed—but may Your name be magnified, even through death. When Grover dies, a part of me will die, too, for we’ve been as one for over 60 years! What joys and what sorrows we’ve waded through together! What mutual joy we had in serving You together, Lord, we’ve been yoke-fellows with You in ministry. It couldn’t have been better than those happy years!

This is January 13, 2010—a day in infamy for getting this news about my beloved. But even though it’s the first month of a new year and a new decade, temporarily, it’s December in my heart—the near end. I’ll have to remember what J. M. Barrie wrote: “God gives us memories so we can have roses in December.”

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!”

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Loving According to God’s Will

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” -Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)

I’m “into” Paul’s letter to the Philippian church just now, and I find I want to highlight and emphasize almost every verse! How rich in teaching is the book! How relevant for where we are in our Christian walk! In these verses, Paul teaches about what I like to call “Loving According to God’s Will.”

First of all, we know as Christian we are commanded to love. God is love and we are to reciprocate His love—both vertically and horizontally. We love Him because He first loved us. When we recognize how much He loved us, we respond by loving Him. And love is all tied up with commitment to Him, following His purpose. But that’s a deep subject for another time. Our love, obedience, commitment to the Lord God is our vertical love—person to God, God to person. The horizontal love causes us to reach out to others, to allow our love to “abound more and more”. But wait! Paul says we are to use “knowledge and depth of insight”…yes, and even “discernment”…so that our vertical love can be pure and blameless. And for how long? “Until the day of Christ.” (Paul reminds us of that day frequently!) As we love others, we are to keep in mind that Jesus may return at any time. Our love for others should meet the tests of purity, blamelessness, and commitment.

And what qualities does our love have? It is “filled with the fruit of righteousness”? We go to another of Paul’s writings, Galatians 5: 22-23 to enumerate this fruit and see if we are bearing it: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (KJV). I quote the KJV because it is the version I used to memorize these verses a long time ago. Eugene Peterson in The Message states the verses this way: “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way as fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion of the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” (Gal. 22-23 –Msg.) Oh, Lord! Help us love according to Your will!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Thanking God, Petitioning God

“ I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” –Phil. 1:4-6

Philippians ~ the “love” letter, the letter of “joy” from Paul the Apostle to the church at Philippi—and consequently to disciples everywhere. Even in our day, it is a letter of inspiration. It lauds true partnership and fellowship in the gospel, unity between Christians, joy in the Lord, and single-minded commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

What can I as a believer learn from the verses I’ve cited above?
Thank God when you remember like-minded believers in the Lord!
I can pray for them with joy in my heart because they and I are ‘partners in the gospel.’ What an honor and privilege to serve alongside other believers!

I can thank God that He “began a good work” both in my fellow disciples and in me.
That good work has extended over the days and years of our Christianship (if there’s not such a word, I’ve just now coined it, Lord, for it expresses what I want to say!). Moreover, the good work Christ began in us will continue until the “day of Christ Jesus,” the day He comes to receive us, either individually or as a great group at the rapture, unto Himself. Thank you, Lord, that You entrusted us, human and fallible as we are, to the supreme work of sharing Your good news!

And on a petitionary note, Lord, grant these requests that we may praise You for Your answers and that those on whose behalf we ask may be blessed:

1. A work permit in Barbados for Missionary Rick Jenkins. Hurry, Lord!
2. A job for David Sunday-gar so he can have some income to go to seminary and provide a living for himself and Magdalene. Hurry, Lord!

In Jesus name, and because of my love for and trust in You!
Your servant,
Ethelene

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, January 11, 2010