via TJC
I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. - Philemon 1:6
Partnership and Deepening stuck out of this verse when I read it. What makes an effective partner? In my opinion, an effective partner does not hold you back or get in your way. They also cannot be superficial, they have to want to go deep into the depths of your life to really understand you.
A perfect example is the relationship that I have with my best friend whom I have known for over 20 years. We come from different faith backgrounds and family structures and have different hobbies and careers but we both do not shy away from asking questions and challenging each other. About halfway through those 20 years, we started a 5 year sparring match, beating each other over the head with our bibles, with love of course, trying to win theological arguments that have raged for hundreds of years. Those were some of the most fun years in my faith journey. Our temperaments have since calmed but we do occasionally take out the largest, thickest bibles we can find and jump back in the theological ring for a few rounds, always coming away with new perspectives. I fondly reminisce about these bouts because they formed solid foundations of faith for both of us, especially once we actually put a definition to the different words we were using and found out we were saying the same thing. I am not sure where my faith would be without these challenges and I love him as my brother in Christ for his help in my increased understanding of “every good thing we share for the sake of Christ”. God bless you mate!
Daily Battle Order:
Today think about who your partners in Christ are. Who can you rely on to challenge your faith and actions and help you to grow in good things and encourage you to let the unfruitful things wither? Thank God for everyone he has sent to build you up and for everyone you still have yet to meet.