"I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ."
Philippians 2:19-21
Do you ever feel that Jesus' priorities are exclusively his glory and the advance of his kingdom? So much so, that your struggles are unimportant to him? Does prayer bring you the discomfort reserved for bothering a great man at war with a trivial problem?
These beautiful verses in Philippians (above) tell us that the church is so radically united with Jesus, that concern for the believers' welfare is the same as seeking Christ's interests.
My Mum used to be carer for my younger brother who is autistic and has a number of mental health issues. Whilst my Dad was alive he could be so concerned for my Mum's welfare that on more than one occasion whilst expressing his concerns to me, he asked me to "look after Vicky" whilst he was at work. He'd be so concerned for his wife that he'd forget for a moment he was supposed to call her Mum in front of me. Nobody had to convince him that he should be concerned for her.
In the same way, Christ's concern for the church - his bride - is all consuming. He yearns with affection for us (Phil 1v8). There is no need to tiptoe to Jesus with our struggles and anxieties. He already knows it all, and he wants to carry the burden. And unlike my Dad, he never has to leave our side.
As Thomas Goodwin says about Hebrews 4:5:
"This text, above any other, speaks the heart of Christ most, and sets
out the frame and workings of it towards sinners; and that so sensibly,
that it doth, as it were, - take our hands and lay them upon Christ's
breast, and let us feel how his heart beats, and his bowels yearn
towards us, even now he is in glory."
Rev. Thomas Goodwin, The Heart Of Christ In Heaven Towards Sinners On Earth
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