"Looking for Lovely"

“My prayers for you are full of praise to God as I give him thanks for you with great joy! I’m so grateful for our union and our enduring partnership that began the first time I presented to you the gospel. I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this gracious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Philippians 1:3-6, TPT

“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” Philippians 1:3-6, MSG

I’m still in awe of Annie’s description of her friendship and the way she related it to the harmony of colors in Monet’s house. What a beautiful picture. I think it’s meaningful to me because it stirs something familiar within me.

I just love friendship. I always have. As long as I can remember, friends have been a very important part of my life. For most of my life, I would tell you that my closest friends were a lot like me in every way. In fact, that was the connection. We enjoyed each other because we looked and sounded like each other.

As I’m getting older, though, I love having friends that are not exactly like me. I like having friends that look, sound, and think differently than I do. So, Annie’s description of the harmonizing colors makes sense to me. The varying shades of blue and yellow look beautiful together because of the contrast. Their differences actually make them beautiful together.

Paul’s words to the church in Philippi have been some of my most favorite words to use when I speak about friends. I remember having a bookmark in my Bible as a teenager that said, “I thank my God every time I remember you. (Phil. 1:3)” It was given to me by one of my best friends. She and I went to school together, church together, and spent most of our waking/sleeping time together. We believed the same things and agreed on nearly everything. Friendships like that are important when you’re young.

If you read through this letter to the Philippians, though, you’ll see that Paul counted on them as ministry partners. Together, they made it possible for him to share the Gospel of Christ. In the group, there were likely men and women that were Jewish like Paul. But the Gospel had just been made available to the entire world. These people he was so thankful for could have had very different upbringings. They may have had nothing in common with Paul. It’s possible that he was so grateful for them because they helped him to see the varying perspectives, and he’d need those perspectives to share Jesus with people he knew nothing about.

It’s come to my attention that Philippians 1:6 is a great verse to pray for a friend when we don’t see eye to eye. “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

When I don’t agree with a friend or even understand that friend, I can step back and pray the words of Philippians 1:6. I don’t have to convince a friend to shift their opinion. I don’t need him/her to agree with me or say that I’m “right.” Because we serve a God that is in complete control, I can offer my friends to Him. He started the good work in each of our hearts, and He will complete it. We are all…. Every, single one of us….. in process with God through Jesus Christ and in the power of Holy Spirit. I deeply desire friendships that demonstrate the beautiful contrast of unique personalities. It’s the truest picture of the kingdom of God.

God, unify us in the Spirit. Please show us how to form friendships with all kinds of people. Use the differences to sanctify and unify us. We can be on mission together even if we look and sound a little different. Jesus said they’ll know we are Christians by our love for one another. We can love each other and disagree with each other, but we need You to show us how. Amen.