Philippians 1:26 - The Importance of face-to-face

"In order that your boasting in me may be abounding in Christ Jesus through the coming of me again to you."

-whether paul knew that he was going to actually see these believers in philippi again may be a matter of speculation.  whether or not he was eventually released and was able to visit them is uncertain.  but what we do know from this verse is that paul knew he not only needed to remain on earth for the sake of people but that it meant being with them - face-to-face, IN THEIR PRESENCE.  letters were fine, but actually being physically present with someone was even better at some level for some reason.  

-one might speculate how the advent of the electronic age and advances in technology may have changed that reality to some extent.  today it has become possible to communicate immediately and directly with people without having to be in their physical presence thanks to telephone and live video, not to mention the ease of just shooting someone an email or a text.  however in recognizing this we must consider not only the importance of being able to physically touch someone but what non-verbal message is conveyed when we take the time and make the effort to go and see people, whether it is across the room or down the hall or down the street or across campus or across town or across the world.  it tells them that they are important to you, that you value them, that they matter  really there is no substitute for actually going to see someone - shake their hand, hug their bod, see and smell each other’s warts and zits and bad breath and stuff.  paul knew that actually coming to be physically present with these philippian believers is what would be an overflowing source of joy and help to them in their faith.  there is something powerfully visceral about living, breathing, caring flesh and blood encroaching directly into my world, complete with forms of touch as well as words of life.

-paul mentions that the philippians would be boasting in him even more in Christ Jesus when he came to see them.  we shouldn’t take that in a spirit other than what paul intended.  these folks had a close and caring relationship, and the philippians knew that this very influential person in the early church CARED ABOUT THEM enough to not only found their assembly in the first place but to keep coming back to invest in their lives.  we’re not talking about paul having an unrealistic place in their hearts - he was a hero and a role model to them, someone they looked up to and whose example they could follow, nothing more, nothing less.  pick any spiritual hero of your own - how would you feel if they made a special point of coming to visit you?  exactly.