HR BRIEFING
Opening Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for choosing me!
Read Philippians 2:19–30
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26 For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29 So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, 30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
It is important to know who our partners are, to value them and speak well of them. Who is in your “team”?Paul did not have a large infrastructure to support his ministry. The churches he founded did not have an established culture of supporting their apostle financially (4:15). His traveling team was small and tight-knit. To lose one of these men would be a blow. Here, at a time of great personal need, Paul contemplates losing two for the sake of the Philippian church.
Timothy is Paul’s preferred choice. Timothy is like a son to Paul, working alongside him and best placed to represent the apostle (22,20). But his departure must be delayed until Paul’s future is more clear (23). So the immediate envoy will be Epaphroditus, recently recovered from a life-threatening illness, who has been alongside Paul through thick and thin.
Paul has warned of the destructive dangers of self-interest (2:4). In his desperate circumstances of imprisonment and uncertainty about the future, he has seen self-interest affect people very close to him (21). His selfless decision to send his closest colleagues powerfully embodied the “mind of Christ” he was urging the Philippian church to have.
Apply
Great teams, like Paul’s, have a purpose that is bigger than itself. A family, a married couple, a group of friends can all be great teams. Encourage your team in the Lord today.
Closing prayer
Pray for your “team” to be free of self-interest and to be totally committed to the cause of Christ.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.