Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion….
—Philippians 2:1
When we are caring for our fellow believers, do we prize and value them and seek what is best for them? If not, then what we are offering them is not true consolation. This is why some abandon the church even after receiving our care.
We may protest, saying, “We visited them and even brought them gifts.” The fact is, however, that we did not love them with this kind of love, for we felt we could afford to lose them. No parents would have such a heart toward their children. If we want to console others, we must value them as if they were our own children.
Adapted from Philippians: That I May Gain Christ, pages 92-93.
Tomorrow: “Consolation of Love” (6)