When I Remember You

"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

Sometimes when I think of someone I haven’t seen in a while, my first thought is to feel guilty. “I really should stay in touch better; I hope he/she isn’t mad at me.” Or I might just feel sad. “Why can’t we spend more time together? Why do we have to live so far apart? It doesn’t seem fair. ” Worse, if it’s someone who did something hurtful to me, remembering them might make me feel angry. “I still can’t believe he said . . . yada, yada, yada.”

Notice anything about that collection of responses? They’re all a little selfish, aren’t they? It’s all about me. A less me-me response might be to think of that person and hope she’s okay, be concerned that he’s making good choices, be interested in how they’re lives are going. I might even pray for them.

Paul wrote today's passage to some great friends he hadn't seen in about 10 years, friends he cared deeply about. He did pray for them, but started out by making his memories of them all about God. How? He practiced the discipline of turning memories into thanks for people.

What a positive way to think about the people in our lives -- as God’s gifts. Why doesn't that come more naturally to me?

The other Big Idea he put into practice was to stop worrying so much about whether he should be doing more for them -- and to trust God to be at work in their lives. After thanking God for his Christian friends, Paul wrote this amazing verse:

“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.” (v. 6)

We usually apply that verse to ourselves, to give us comfort that God is still at work in our lives. But it’s also extremely helpful to remember that God is still working in the lives of people I care about. I don’t have to be the one to make sure they’re all okay; He does that job. And He does it a lot better than I do.

So let’s try to copycat Paul. Next time you remember a distant friend or a nearby one that you’ve drifted from or even your parents in the next room, try to thank God for them. And if the people you're remembering are believers, thank God that He’s not going to stop working for them even though you can’t do it very well right now.