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.
