August 22 - I Have You in My Heart

August 22 - I Have You in My Heart
Philippians 1:7

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart …

Just after Glinda shows up to tell Dorothy how to get home, the Tin Man says one last thing. He says, “Now I know I have a heart because it’s breaking.”

Paul simply fell in love with the people who were part of the churches he had started.  When he thought about them, his heart filled with joy at their accomplishments and pain at their failures, but he never stopped loving them.  Some of his harshest words were for churches he loved very much. He didn’t want to see anyone lost to the kingdom of God.

When he wrote to the Philippians, he was already in chains in a prison in Rome, but he wanted them to know how much he cared for them.  They weren’t perfect, they were anxious and needed to remember to set that aside because God’s peace could overcome that. There were those in the church who were trying to move back to what the Jewish church was teaching them. Paul had worked too hard for their freedom to let that happen.  There were those in the church who had problems with pride, some were arguing with each other; but Paul loved them all.

This is an incredible lesson for us as Christians. Sometimes we set aside our hearts and feel that we have to be brutally honest or quite critical in our examination of others.  Our hearts are too soft and we aren’t upholding righteousness if that happens.

Paul never let any of that stop his outpouring of love for those in his churches.  They knew that love more than they knew his frustration or anger.

Our hearts should break for each other and we should be able to show that incredible love that the Father has poured out on us to everyone around us.  We need to learn to bite our tongues and instead, open our arms and hearts.