A letter from Anthony...
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In
all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:3-6
A painter
named John Sargent once painted an image of some roses in such detail and with
such care that even his harshest critics found themselves praising his
work. It was a small picture, but the
quality of the artwork is said to have been so good that it approached
perfection. Sargent considered it to be
his best work and he was so proud of it that even though he received many
offers he refused to sell it. Instead,
whenever he was discouraged about his abilities as a painter he would look at
that painting and remind himself; “I painted that” and his confidence would
instantly return.
When Paul
wrote these words to the believers in Philippi he was expressing the
encouragement that he had received from them, because of their faith in the
Lord. Their partnership in the gospel
gave Paul confidence in what God was doing in and through them.
When
Sargent looked at the work of his own hands he was reminded of what he had once
done, and he regained his confidence in the work of his own hands.
But as
those in Christ our confidence must not be in what we have done, or hope to do,
because even our greatest work, and our most sacrificial deed is nothing more
than a dirty rag compared to the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf.
Rather, may we find our confidence in God’s ability to complete what He has begun in us. May our hope and joy be in the good news that we have been forgiven through Christ. And may this good news give us the confidence we need to serve Christ and to spur one another on to love and good deeds for the glory and honour of Christ.
In Christ, AnthonyImage: https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-singer-sargent/roses
* Possibly not the painting of roses mentioned
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