Philippians 3:17-21
Paul continues his thought from the previous paragraph: we should all forget what is behind and strain to take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of us. Then Paul says that if the reader doesn't know how to do that to look at Paul's own example or the example of someone else who is living in that same way. The urgency of Paul's imperative is that by not living in this way, the reader risks being an enemy of the cross who is destined for destruction.
The characteristics of an enemy of the cross are that their god is their stomach - I think this means that they give in to their basic, animal instincts and have no self-control but indulge in glutony, sexual immorality, greed, etc. Their mantra is likely: if it feels good, do it. They have no thought for eternity but live completely in and for the moment. Paul reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven and so we should have a point of view that extends beyond the present and live according to that.
There is no sense of Paul gloating about the destruction of the enemies of the cross. On the contrary, just the idea that there are those opposed to Christ and therefore destined for destruction causes tears to come to Paul's eyes. I know that I hdon't have that same heart-felt response. I think there are two reasons: I have allowed hell to be a theological belief and not allowed myself to really think about or comprehend what it means in reality and I have isolated myself relationally and emotionally from people who don't know Jesus which makes me callous to the fact that my neighbours are destined for destruction. As I think about it, there is a third reason: Paul's tears may come from the fact that he has a deep love for people but I believe that love for people is motivated by his love for God and his passionate desire for the glory of God. I think he has grasped the heart of God when it comes to enemies of the cross: it is sad because they are destined for destruction but also because they are minimizing the most beautiful expression of God's love for them.
My prayer? Simply that God would awaken my senses to the reality of the destruction that awaits those who live as if there is no eternity, that he would give me eyes to see people they way that he sees them and a heart to love them the way that he loves them, that he would remind me again of the glory of the cross and the deep insult that the enemies of the cross make when they live as if it never happened. I also pray that God would show me who is living like Paul in this regard so that I can model my life after them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It is tough to think that many people are headed for destruction. Often we just don't want to go there, we want to think are warm happy fuzzy thoughts. A good point though that we need to act on this fact. It's the classical analogy, if you knew someone was going to ski off a cliff would you warn them? I would like to think that most people I would, maybe not everybody(jokes). Anyway really good point that I think we all need to consider.
I don't know if the analogy works today - I think that people are so afraid of getting involved that there are lots of people who would be afraid to say anything to the person hurtling towards the cliff. I also think that some would whip out their cell phones to get the video that would be the next YouTube hit, rather than getting involved. Case in point: look at all the videos of people being beaten up - no one intervenes.
Post a Comment