This is making me wonder a little at the moment, though perhaps it really is just as obvious as it seems... Appearing twice in Philippians 4:4 this is the second person plural imperative present active (or whatever order those words should appear in) form of the verb rejoice. I suppose at the simplest level it really is as simple as a command from Paul, to all the Philippian church, to rejoice constantly in view of everything God has done. My wondering is of course about how one goes about this on a daily basis - after all, Paul was a man who would rejoice in the face of suffering quite readily; for most of us that is, at best, incredible. Beyond simply reminding ourselves of the great blessings God has poured out, then responding by active seeking to respond with celebration, is there anything practically we can do? In itself that is already quite a lot of work, of course, but it never hurts to find practical ways to respond to God more fully. For now, I think, it is best left at this; then I can go on wondering some more at how something that should be so natural, should end up being so difficult in practice. As Jonathan Edwards put it:
"He has chosen you that you might be holy and without blame, that you might have your filth taken away, and that you might have the image of God put upon you, and that your soul might be adorned, to be the bride of his glorious and dear Son. What cause for love is here!"
No comments:
Post a Comment