Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion…
Philippians 2:1 NIV
Encouragement, Comfort
Here are some words of encouragement from hockey legends. Wayne Gretzky once said, “Hockey is a unique sport in the sense that you need each and every guy helping each other and pulling in the same direction to be successful.” Goalie Jacques Plante famously said, “How would you like a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and 18,000 people boo?” Brian Burke said, “Sometimes you do the hard work and set the table, and somebody else eats the meal.”
***
Belonging to any group comes with many positives. We are not created to be alone, so even the most introverted needs somebody in their life to encourage them when they are involved in something difficult, and to comfort them when they are walking through grief. If this is so in human relationships, it is even more so in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul writes this in Philippians 2:1: “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion…” When we come into a relationship with Jesus, we are immediately granted the gift of eternal life. Our old life, with its sin and shame, is gone, and death loses its sting. If this is all we got from knowing Jesus, it would be enough. But Paul tells us there is so much more – encouragement in the tough times, comfort in His constant and abiding love, tenderness and compassion when we are lonely and sad. Our Jesus is always with us, and these and so much more are ours as we walk with him daily.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley