In our bible study of late we have been reading and discussing Philippians. A book I have only read once and then I was not ready to appreciate it. It was quite possibly the best book to be in the middle of when the weekend retreat started the other Friday. Over the past year or so I have met and kept many close friends. Not just friends, but brothers and sisters in Christ. What does that mean? To me it means these people are not just passing friends or blood family (in both cases full of opposing values and desires), but instead these people are as one. True they are different, with different strengths and weaknesses. Different backgrounds and futures, but their ultimate goal or motive in life is a shared love of God and His creation. Sure they are human and lose track of this from time to time, but in the end they care about the person next to them in the way you might care for your grandfather, sister-in-law, or best friend. Deeply and with purpose. Anyway, God has blessed me with these relationships all over the place, from family to co-workers to old and new friends alike. So as we sit and read the letters of Paul, who was imprisoned in Rome for speaking the Gospel, I can't help but be appreciative of his heart for two reasons actually.
The first reason I have been taken by this book is the manner he speaks to and of his fellow Christians. Referring to us as servants and saints and brothers (sisters) he expresses his love and affection for our common ground. He speaks as if the day has already been won and we are all the victors even as he sits in chains. He talks about the glory of God to us who are watching his life unfold, then and now, while ministering to the palace guards and such. The very ones who held him captive and could possibly bring him and his work to ruin were the ones he made the effort with in those dark days. What consistency, humility, and hope he shines out to those of us watching his efforts. It is possible that those he was writing to were as he was, but to be honest with you I have my doubts. I imagine a group of people on the other end of this letter who look allot like me. People who get frustrated by the little things throughout a day, but still sit in deep appreciation of the open sky. People who have a heart that screams to take more action and be more effective, but often find themselves doing nothing of the sort. And so even as he counts us among him as if their is no difference between us I can only imagine the effect these letters have had to us over the years. The picture it paints of a man who has died to himself and yet lives brilliantly for God as a suffering servant and yet calls us as loved ones to stand beside us in our common cause of loving the worlds lost and broken.
The second reason I have enjoyed this book is because of the incite look we get into the heart and process of a mature Christian. These days we label what it is to be a mature Christian time and again as we grow in maturity ourselves. At first it might be the person who lead us to God to begin with. Latter it might be a church elder or a writer of a book like Max Lucado. Later still it becomes biblical characters and so on until we get to a point where we to will have reached maturity. Then, I'm willing to bet, we stop labeling what it is to be "spiritually mature" as we realize Christ is the mark we have been striving for and beyond Him their has never been a mark to hit. He is the whole ladder while the people we were labeling have been rungs on it. Anyway, the point I was trying to make before veering off track was that his level of maturity and humility and calm striving strength blow me away. By comparison I feel like a fish out of water, flopping around. So I look with deeper appreciation of his words and attitude in the face of all he has been through and the man he is because of it. Remember this is the same man who only years earlier was arresting and persecuting Christian women and men with urgency and passion. Now he sits alone and at the end of a sword speaking to his faith family as though nothing is out of place and everything is as it should be. He writes these letters while being watched and questioned by those who hold him prisoner. If that doesn't seem impressive to you, try a bit harder to see the very unnatural state of affairs this presents. Place even the most "mature" Christian you know in that spot and consider that (chances are) they would not be so well composed.
If you ever want to see the qualities that make a person a Christian read the gospels, but if you want to see the difference between the average Christian n00b and the more completed package read Philippians, or a few others in the New Testament. The contrast is quite apparent and indeed we should strive for the goal through living it, praying, learning, and loving, but in truth we all start out as one who knows and does nothing good it seems. This life is in all ways a process, a ladder, a race, a series of tests and choices so watch your footing and keep a fair pace in your race. The time for rest is not yet come.
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