At the Loft this week we started a five week walk through Philippians. The letter, although short, it miles long on its impact both through the content of the letter and the setting in which it was written. The content contains gems that Christians have remembered throughout the centuries. "To live is Christ, to die is gain', 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,' and other phrases from the servant hymn in chapter two to the personalized greetings that close the book demonstrate the constant closeness Paul lived in to both Christ and other servants of the church with whom he labored.
The setting of the book only adds spice to the substance of the letter. Paul writes from prison. In jail because of his convictions and perhaps, through using his citizenship in order to make it to Rome, Paul writes in a state of utter dependence upon God and others.
How often do we let circumstances define our outcomes? If an event takes life in a negative direction or if our work produces a less than ideal result, do we hear the voice of the temptor beckoning us to call it quits and resign from our endeavors? Paul is either faithful or deluded - he spendshis life living for He who is everything or nothing. Each of us makes our own decision, ultimately, if Jesus is who he says he is or not and unfortunately for us, there is no middle ground.
Paul offers us the example of the fully devoted follower, living out the decision that Jesus is everything. His decision defined his heart, his relationships, his courage - and we see all of this in his writing. Paul honestly believed 'to live is Christ.' The Christian lives by this standard.
