Saturday, January 5, 2008

to live is Christ

i’ve been having trouble sleeping as of late. the causes vary, but the effect remains consistent. after jumping onto facebook at 1:00 in the morning, i chose to continue going through philippians.

as i read last night (this morning?), i came across that famous line of paul’s in philippians 1:21: “for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” paul is in prison, uncertain of his fate, whether he will live or die. but in his eyes, God will be glorified in either case. for as long as he lives, he will be dedicated to Christ. as long as he is breathing, all he does will be for the glory of God, not for himself. it reminded me of something said in donald miller’s Blue Like Jazz – a point his friend made, saying that living for something is harder than dying for something, because any sort of martyrdom is associated with personal glory, while indebting yourself to a cause or a person requires sacrifice and hard work, a surrender of self. paul is more than willing to do this for Jesus Christ, because paul believes He is worthy of all glory. however, his greater desire is to “depart and be with Christ” (v23). to him, death is the greater thing, because he would get to be with his Savior; it would be gain (v21).

my mindset is one that is often set in the present. i’m not a dreamer or a visionary who’s naturally inclined to set goals and look at the big picture. the future is so uncertain to me, so i try not to think about it a whole lot (overall, not all the time, mind you; i do have my dreams). what i neglect is that there is one thing i can be certain of; when i die, i will go to heaven to be with Jesus. i know i don’t live that way though. i’m quite attached to things on this earth, if i have to be completely honest. i would rather live than die. the fact that entering heaven to meet his Savior face to face was such a driving force in paul’s life makes me think. do i live in light of eternity, as paul did? in many (more like most) cases, i’m sure i don’t. and i pray that’s something that will change in me.

this brings me to the question melissa and i discussed yesterday at starbucks: why doesn’t God just take us right away? why aren’t we swept up into heaven as soon as we’re saved, if being with Him is so much better than being on this earth? why does he leave us here? interestingly enough, philippians 1:25 answers this question for me: “and being confident of this, i know that i shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith.” there are two reasons why God requires the process of sanctification here on earth: 1) to allow our faith to progress, and 2) so we can encourage others as their faith progresses as well. we face uncertainty, endure trials, experience pain, all with the purpose of increasing our faith in God. and we need to surround ourselves with people, so that as our faith grows stronger, we can encourage and rejoice with them as theirs does the same. i like the idea of that; God wants us to choose to trust Him in the face of adversity. because if we trust Him, He will most certainly be faithful. making the choice to turn to Him instead of relying on our own strength or investing our hope in other things will inevitably cause our faith to grow, because God will never fail.

i know that my faith has certainly been increasing in the past couple of months. so really, despite the difficulties and the pain, the only reasonable option is to rejoice, because through it all, i have seen the Lord so clearly, and i know His plans for me are perfect. it is my prayer that He will subsequently be glorified through me.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

He who has begun a good work

today i began my personal study of the book of philippians – a very thought-provoking sort of book. so far, two chunks of the scripture have particularly stood out to me.

philippians 1:3-11 is easily one of my favorite passages in the bible. paul takes the time to express his love for the believers in philippi. i see such an interesting contrast between how paul addresses the philippians and the galatians; “i thank my God upon every remembrance of you … making request for you all with joy” as opposed to “i marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him … o foolish galatians!” praise as opposed to rebuke. paul loves both groups of believers, but he has a special place in his heart for the philippians (“it is right for me to think this of you all, because i have you in my heart”). their fellowship in the gospel (v. 5) and love for God and for others bring him joy and encourage him, even though he can’t be with them, as he is imprisioned. he misses them greatly (v. 8), yet he is excited to see how God is going to work in their lives (v. 6). in verses 9-11, he prays for particular characteristics to grow and mature in them. i love how he wraps it up in verse 11: “to the glory and praise of God.” he spends a lot of time praising the philippians, but in the end, he reminds them that it is all for the glory of God.

i have people like this in my life – friends who i am so amazingly thankful for because of their faithfulness to the Lord. when i think about them, i grow excited as i imagine all the amazing things that God is going to do in their lives, all the ways that He is going to bless them. and i believe so completely what paul says in verse 6, that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God has perfect and glorious plans for those who love Him, and i’m so blessed to know that i can witness some of those plans in the lives of some of my most beloved friends.

the second passage of philippians that stood out to me was verses 12-18 of the same chapter, mainly verse 12. paul starts off by encouraging the philippians, as they are likely concerned for him as he’s imprisoned. the words he offers are so amazing, and hard to believe that they come from the heart of a man who is chained up in jail. “the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” instead of complaining or asking them to pray that he will be delivered from jail, he chooses to view his trial as a blessing. he goes on to explain that everyone in the palace guard can see how God is working, and that other believers are becoming more bold about preaching and living the gospel when they see how paul is handling everything.

i was struck by verse 12, how paul responds to the difficulties he finds himself in. there’s not much that’s worse than being in jail. and yet paul only speaks of how glad he is that his trying circumstances are furthering the gospel, glorifying God. and my thought is this: if paul can praise God while he has chains around his wrists and ankles, then certainly i can praise Him in my circumstances.

i pray that i will always be thankful for both my friends and for the trials that my Lord puts me though. in both, He can be greatly glorified.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

beautiful

i have nothing original to say. i just want to thank johnna for making me listen to this song on her ipod today at church; i went out this afternoon and bought phil wickham's album cannons because of it. the lyrics are incredibly inspiring, and i think the first two verses especially encapsulate how i personally feel when i look at God's creation. i pray that God will touch your heart in some way as you read these words.
what or who can be more beautiful than our God?

phil wickham :: beautiful

i see Your face in every sunrise
the colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
the world awakens in the light of the day
i look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful

i see Your power in the moonlit night
where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
we are amazed in the light of the stars
it’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful

i see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then You died and then You rose again for me
now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful

when we arrive at eternity’s shore
where death is just a memory and tears are no more
we’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful

i see Your face, i see Your face, i see Your face
You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful