I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.

Philippians 1:3-4, ESV

Just imagine the fond affection that Paul clearly had for his brothers and sisters in Philippi. You can see it in his statement that he is thankful for all of them. In every prayer. Every time he remembers them. Consider how just grateful that Paul must have been. Having gone from a bitter life of tracking down anyone who professed a belief in Jesus just so he could get them to deny Jesus as the Son of God. And if he failed that, he did his best to have these Christians imprisoned or killed. 

But now his life is as far from his former life as the east is from the west. Now he is fully convinced that Jesus is the only way to salvation. For a number of years he has been preaching the good news of the hope that is found in the Messiah. He has been responsible for the conversion of hundreds, if not thousands of people. Now, instead of looking back on a wasted life, he can look back with a sense of accomplishment at having rescued people from their certain doom had they continued on the destructive paths of their own.

Now he has the precious memories of brothers and sisters whom he has personally helped come to Christ, and those memories fill him with such thankfulness that every prayer is filled with joy! This is what Christianity can do. It can turn the constant regrets stemming from a wasted life into a meaningful existence that is now filled with the memories of people who have a faith as precious as their own.

We have memories of people like that in our own life, don't we? Some of those people were instrumental in bringing us to Christ. Some are people whom we have helped encourage. And the mere memories of these wonderful people fill our hearts with such gratitude that we have to pause and thank our Heavenly Father for the privilege of having been part of their lives. Some of our memories are of faithful friends who have already passed from this life, while some are of those who will continue to serve here on earth long after we are gone. But they all have one thing in common: They are going to share with us that great reunion someday that God has in store for all of the faithful.

We sing a song, "Precious memories, how they linger!", and it reminds us that we are a blessed people indeed. We are blessed to have known such wonderful people. We are blessed to have had them touch our lives, whether it was a brief touch, or on that lasted for years. For those who are still alive, we are filled with joy because we know that we will get to be with them for all eternity. And for those who have already gone, we have the hope of their restored companionship drawing closer and closer as each day goes by.

In a world that is filled with such sorrow and pain, isn't it wonderful to have the privilege of being a Christian? And isn't it beautiful to know that our precious memories of those we have loved the most will someday be replaced with the incomprehensible reality of getting to be in their presence for all eternity. 

These are the things that are worth remembering. And, once having called them to mind, are the very things that we cannot help but thank our loving Father for. Aren't we blessed!