“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.” (Philippians 4:17)

I’ve read Philippians a dozen times or more in my life and this morning, this verse stuck out to me. Apparently I’ve just skimmed over it in the past because frankly I never realized it was there.

Philippians was written by Paul to the Church in Philippi. Paul spent three months in Philippi previous to this, sharing the gospel and growing the first Christian church there. (See Acts 16). The people of Philippi loved Paul and went to every extent to support him on his journeys. The verse above comes from a passage where Paul is describing his heart for why he appreciates their help.

Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God in human form. The Holy Spirit is their spirit. Therefore, Paul was filled with the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit). When I think about it that way, and I read the verse above, I realized a new perception of God’s heart.

God doesn’t seek the gift he gets when I am obedient to Him, serve others, give generously to others, etc. He seeks the fruit I get from the gift. So its backwards. The gift giver actually gets the gift. I think that God takes pleasure in this because he knows how fulfilling in our hearts it is to be obedient, to give, to server, etc. I had never considered it this way and was surprised and moved when I thought about it from this perspective.

I hope this makes sense.