From July 1981 to August 1987, I lived in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. You can learn an awful lot in six years in the South. You can learn how to drive like Bill Elliott up the Connector to Spaghetti Junction. You can learn that “barbecue” is not a cooking appliance or a way of cooking or an eating event; it IS the food. You can learn that you can never learn all the street names that contain the word, “peachtree.” And you can learn some very creative turns of pronunciation and vocabulary -- like the first syllable emphasis: “The only INsurance I got against GOrillas is the POlice.” (OK, I never heard a Southerner say that exact sentence.) Then there’s “mess,” which means a whole lot of something, and “fixin’ ta,” which means I am ‘about to’ do something. You learn to say ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ a lot, and of course, you learn to say “y’all.”
After reading today’s text, I couldn’t help but see how many times Paul said, “all of you.” Now, Paul WAS born on the Southeastern shore of Turkey, so I wonder if the more accurate translation would be “y’all?” But here’s what this did to my reading. I investigated and discovered that the wonderful encouragement of Philippians 1:6 was not a singular encouragement. The “you” in “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” is a plural! And the verse comes quickly on the heels of his reference to the Philippians’ “partnership” with him in the gospel.
The good work that God does, He does - not just in each of us, but between us all and among us all and through us all. There’s thanksgiving and joy and confidence in this life that can only come from the fellowship of God’s grace and the partnership of shared ministry. There is great longing and affection for those who have labored with you, shoulder to shoulder for the Lord. Serving together forges a bond that is unique. It shows up in unbroken intercession, even when the miles separate you. It lifts up, inspiring courage. And it never gives up; “I will continue with [y’all] for [y’all’s] progress and joy in the faith.”
In the next few days, be especially sensitive to the dynamic of God working His good work in your groupings. Try not to think in the singular. Think in the plural. Consider your family, your small group study, your task team, your co-workers, your ball club. What kind of progress and joy is God producing in your midst? What depth of affection is His creating? What in the name of our Lord Jesus is He fixin’ ta do in y’all? I reckon a whole mess of good!
Prayer: May your love abound more and more
in knowledge and depth of insight,
so that you may be able to discern what is best
and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ
—to the glory and praise of God.
Thanks Bob for the reminder to look and see what God is doing in the midst of my y'all. Just last night, at prayer meeting, Gods work was revealed to me. Our Sunday School, all the way from 2 to 86, has experienced a rebirth of sorts that is definitely from the hand of our Lord! In three short weeks our "grouping" has changed from a stagnant pond of the same teachers and same curriculum to a flowing stream of new teachers, new curriculum and new students. Changing up teachers allowed previous teachers to attend adult Sunday School which beneficial to the whole class. I, myself, heard the call to teach elementary children and responded and have been richly blessed each week. Our Sunday School "superintendent" stepped forward to breath life into our older class who has a developmentally challenged student. She came forward, since no one else did, to give the previous teacher, of many many moons, a rest but also in hopes of making a difference. I am so happy to say that God has blessed her effort. He led her to use a different curriculum which, combined with a new teacher, has changed the class dynamic and has led to a controlled and growing class.
ReplyDeleteAll this is to say that we may see the change that we have been called to make but only when we step back and look at the bigger picture do we see the work that God is doing in a "y'all" It is pure joy!
I reckon you are correct, sir! Now please pass the roastin' ears!
ReplyDeleteJeanine, so glad to hear what God has done and is doing in your midst. The joy is richer and deeper when you experience it among many. Susie, I had to look that one up. Did y'all use that one on the panhandle? It sounds more mid-western.
ReplyDeleteroastin' ears is Georgia slang for homemade creamed corn...or at least that's what my dad and grandma called it, and they were from Georgia!
ReplyDelete