David Ralph

A Great Promise and Prayer

There are many times I forget that the letters in the New Testament were not written for individual application but were written to a community with a communal application in the mind of the writer.  Sometimes, I read the text as if it is written just to me, and that the application is very personal and individualistic.  But, by doing this, I can misunderstand and misapply what the original writer had in mind.  I was reading Philippians 1:6 yesterday and I started to think again about how this applies to me as an individual.  Listen to the verse, “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.”  But it wasn’t written to an individual.  Instead, it was written to a church community.  The “you” in the verse is a collective, communal “you”.  As I thought about this verse in that context, it hit me.  What an awesome promise for any church community that is striving to be the kind of church that Jesus wants them to be.  The work that God has started in the community, He will carry it out to completion.  Then a different thought came to mind.  I hope and pray and even believe that this is God’s promise for Lakeside.  That the work that He began almost twenty one years ago, that he will continue to build it and shape it and mold it and use it for His honour and for His glory.  That work that He began is not mine to complete – or the staffs to complete – or the community at Lakeside’s to complete.  It is His community and He will carry it out to completion.

But then Paul shares a prayer that he has been praying for this community of faith.  Listen to his 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.” .  What a great prayer.  I spent some time studying what he was really asking for the community.  First he was praying that they would be filled with love for each others.  Not a love filled with sentimental feelings but “agape” love which is the full and abundant love of God that is demonstrated through tangible actions.  Then he prays that just as much as they get love – they also gain insight and knowledge.  The word “insight” refers to discernment in moral and ethical matters.  The word “knowledge” refers to the knowledge of the divine and His ways.  He is praying that this community would be filled with greater insight into God and his ways.  Then he prays that the purpose of this knowledge and insight would allow then to discern what is “best”.  They wouldn’t settle with what is okay or so-so or good but they would seek out the very best and pursue that.  He wants them to have discernment.  Then he wants them to display proper conduct in the greater community around them.  He wants them to be pure.  The word “pure” means to let the sun reveal any imperfections.  He wants them to be blameless – a word that describes what “outsiders” see – conduct that doesn’t cause them to stumble or puts an obstacle in their way.  He wants them to discern, display and then “demonstrate the fruit of righteousness” which is likely synonymous with the fruit of the spirit.  All of this is to bring “glory to God” which is the primary purpose of each follower of Jesus – “to bring glory to God.” 

I thought to myself, what a great promise and a great prayer”.  I believe and hope and trust that this is a promise for Lakeside.  That God will continue to do His work in and through our community.  But I also want this to be my prayer for our community – that we would love each other abundantly – that we would discern God’s best – that we would display proper conduct in our world – that we would demonstrate the fruit of the spirit in our lives.  Let’s claim this promise together – let’s make this our prayer for our community.