With all my heart is a phrase we use when we want someone to know how deeply we love them. Unfortunately, the phrase gets thrown around carelessly and therefore the meaning is not taken seriously. Husbands and wives say this to one another and repeat vows to stay together until death parts them, but in America over 50% of divorce and move on to someone else. The only way to love with all of your heart is to put Jesus at the center of your heart. When He is our Master, we learn to love the way He loves, and our circumstances or selfish desires do not determine our love. Jesus was rejected, yet His love did not waiver. Loving with all of our hearts is a selfless love that goes the distance for the betterment of others. When we love this way, we should let others know how we feel. Paul, in our text today did just that. He was hindered by being in jail for preaching Christ, but he still has joy in his heart as he remembers the people in the Philippian church that he won to the Lord.
In Philippians 1:6, he has reassured them that he knows Jesus will continue to work in them and through them just as he has in the past. In verse 7 he says it is right for him to feel this way because he holds them in his heart. When he thinks of them, he is joyful and confident about the work of Christ in Philippi. He loves them with all of his heart, or as some commentators put it, he loved them as his own soul.
Those in the Philippian church had benefited from his ministry. It was because of Paul they were introduced to Jesus. Because of Paul, they understood the grace of God and they had a bond with him. When someone does something for you that has eternal value, you never get over it. They loved him so much that they ministered to him to the best of their ability while he was in prison. They were joined together at the deepest level of love. They had a spiritual bond where Christ was the link. They showed this by the way they were living when he was not in their presence. The greatest way to show our respect and love for the pastors God has placed over us is to proclaim His word and adhere to their teaching and preaching.
He calls them “partakers of my grace.” They were sympathetic to his situation and suffered along with Paul. They were doing everything within their power to help him and promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. They kept the church of Christ moving forward while they ministered to Paul. For this, he loved them with everything in him. He yearned to be with them. He prayed for their success while he was in prison. He never stopped thinking of them. This is seen in verse 8 where he longs after them in the “bowels” of Jesus. This means with all the affection of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:7-8 “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”
The greatest attribute anyone can ascribe to us is that we loved Christ with all of our hearts. We need to examine ourselves and see if our love for Him measures up to this standard. If it does, it will be seen in our obedience to Him. We will be faithful to attend every service of the church God has placed us in unless we are hindered by causes beyond our control. We will treat others with high esteem and love them selflessly, putting their needs above our own. We will pray for them often, serve them tirelessly and feel connected spiritually. Is this a high calling? Yes, it is, but this is what Jesus expects of those who claim His name. If we love the way Christ loved us it will not seem unreasonable, but it will come naturally. This is loving with all your heart.
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