“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” (Philemon 1:7)

Have you ever been asked either, What time is it? or What day is it? We all have been asked this type of question. What if God asked you this type of question, how would you answer? If we will take our lead from the writer of the Book of Hebrews, we might answer it as time to encourage someone. In Hebrews we read, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13) Here the writer states the reason for this need to be encouraged is because of the deceitfulness of sin.

Even as believers, we still struggle with sin. When we come to Christ, we still live in this world and our sin nature is still with us. We can relate to the Apostle Paul who wrote, “I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” (Romans 7:18-20) This is the effect of the sinful nature in us. Yet, as we come to Christ, we also receive a new nature given to us by our new birth into Jesus Christ. Now God has put a new life in us as He sends into our lives the Holy Spirit. We are now to live in this new life with the new nature as the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I (Jesus) have said to you.” (John 14:26b) Paul would express this challenge, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25)

This is one reason why we need each other, to encourage each other. It is because sin is deceitful. And today we need encouragement from each other to help us stay strong. This was Paul’s encouragement to Philemon. Philemon’s love for Paul had brought him encouragement. Paul had also seen the encouragement Philemon had brought to the Lord’s people. He described it as “refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” (Philemon 1:7) Paul was again asking him to encourage another follower of Christ.

Seeking to encourage and to receive encouragement was part of Paul’s ministry. Writing to the Church in Rome Paul says, “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” (Romans 1:11-12) He would tell the Church at Thessalonica to look for the day they would all be with Christ. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

In the face of all the challenges of life and our own sin nature, God has given us each other, the Body of Christ, the Church and the Local Church that we main gain encouragement to live our lives following Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews would offer us this challenge:

“. . . . let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:22-25)

As we see the day of Jesus coming, let us “encourage one another and all the more.”

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block