In 2010, 60-year old Diana Nyad set out to do something most people thought was impossible. Her goal was to swim from Cuba to Florida. To train, she moved to Key West along with her coach Bonnie Hyatt, her navigator John Bartlett, and a team of people who would keep the sharks at bay.
On Sept. 2, 2013 -- 3 years later -- on her fifth attempt, she made her way ashore in Key West, having completed the task. The 110-mile swim took her 53 hours.
With the crowds applauding and the cameras trained on her, she said she wanted to say three things:
Never give up.
You're never too old.
It may look like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.
As many have pointed out, Paul's brief letter to the Philippians suggests it's the same thing with the Christian life. We may think we can do it on our own, but Christianity is a team sport. Paul often referred to the church as a body made up of many parts, every one of them being necessary. When Jesus sent people out to evangelize, he sent them out in teams. There are at least 58 "one anothers" in the New Testament showing us the importance of teamwork.
Paul makes the same point here in Philippians. After a brief salutation (1:1-2), he says "I thank God ... for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now" (1:3-5). In the first century, that word "partnership" (koinōnia) had commercial overtones. It was used to describe a group of people who got together to get something done. Think of a modern-day Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at Apple. Paul says the same thing here. He's referring to Christians who roll up their sleeves and work together to accomplish something, in this case to make Jesus known. In 1:12 he refers to this as "the progress of the gospel." Hence, we could summarize the theme of Philippians with two simple but powerful words:
Gospel Partnership.
Thus Paul begins his letter by expressing his profound gratitude to God for the readers' partnership in the gospel from the day they received it. They didn't relegate the work to the evangelism pastor or the missions agency. Together they stepped up to the plate, not always with same roles or gifts, but together they made evangelism possible for all kinds of people. This partnership in the gospel had at least a financial component. In 4:15 Paul writes that the church had partnered with him in the matter of "giving and receiving." They had reached deep down into their pockets to support the ongoing work of the gospel. In addition, they had sent one of their own -- Epaphroditus -- to Rome in order to minister to Paul's daily needs in prison. Not all of us can travel long distances in missionary work like Epaphroditus, but many of us can. Think of the gospel partnerships you've been involved with, both within your local church and beyond, so that the message of God's love would go out and disciples would be made. That's what this letter is all about.
Philippians should cause us to ask, "Am I fully committed to getting the gospel message out, whether it means going across the street, across the states, or across the seas?" Will we pray for the wisdom to be able to discern what is of greatest importance in life (1:10)? Will we fulfill our duty as citizens of heaven to "struggle together for the faith of the gospel?" (1:28). In 2015, will we grow in our role as partners in the gospel along with one another even as we get to know Jesus Christ better?
