All of us have special people in our lives. These are people who give us great happiness—people who we love to be with. People we can talk to anytime and into the small hours of the night.

Even pastors of churches who have been through many cities have people who are very special to them and who they long to see again. Think about that. What is it that makes people special to one another? I am not talking about romantic love. We all understand that. What is it that makes the deep friendship?

There was a relationship like this between Paul and the saints at Philippi, a Greek city many miles north of Corinth. There has to be a reason for this kind of special relationship. It doesn’t happen everywhere and all the time. What was different about Philippi?