Receiving Before Sharing
At the heart of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is what many scholars believe is an early Christian hymn about the incredible love of Christ who humbly and sacrificially laid down many of his own rights and entitlements for the sake of serving the wellbeing of others. Throughout the letter, Paul calls the church to the difficult yet rewarding task of not only receiving the great love of Christ but imitating it! In this series we want to imagine together what it might look like to center the humble love of Christ in our thoughts, relationships, priorities, goals, and aspirations, trusting that the same joy, peace, contentment and fulfillment that Paul experienced in his day might be ours as well.
In this message, Pastor Aaron focused on the dynamic of receiving and sharing God’s love. We can’t share what we haven’t first received. In order to have love to pour out and give away to others, we have to first receive it. This receiving is not just a one-time event, but an ongoing dynamic of daily being renewed and growing deeper in love.
This is the dynamic that Paul said was present in his own life and which he prayed the Philippians would continue to experience and grow in. It is also a dynamic powerfully illustrated and taught by Jesus in his washing of his disciples’ feet in John 13.
