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Friday, October 22, 2004
Yesterday, we looked at eternal security and the reality that, once you're a child of the King, there's nothing you can do to get away from that. God is faithful to His end of the deal regardless of our actions or thoughts or whatever we do.
When you think about it, that thought paints a pretty picture, but if I lived my life with that reality forefront in my mind, what changes?
I think one result can be found in Paul's letter to Philippians. Eugene Peterson wrote this about Paul's letter: "But circumstances or incidental compared to the life of Jesus, the Messiah, that Paul experiences from the inside. For it is the life that not only happened at a certain point in history, but continues to happen, spilling out into the lives of those who recieve Him, and then continues to spill out all over the place. Christ is, among much else, the revelation that God cannot be contained or hoarded. It is this 'spilling out' quality of Christ's life that accounts for the happiness of Christians, for joy is life in excess, the overflow of what cannot be contained within any one person."
And if we look at what is going on in chapter 3, we see Paul warning people about putting confidence in their "works" to gain the favor of God. Specifically, to avoid the "dogs" who are interested in appearances of religiosity. Those people who make lists of what it means to be spiritual, and that list usually requires our effort rather than depending on the unmerited favor and divine enablement of God's grace (see earlier entries).
In fact, Paul gives his resume of "works" in the early verses: As a Jewish man he was circumcised as a symbol of the covenant when he was 8 days old. A member of the nation of Israel. From the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew among Hebrews. An up and coming leader of the Pharisees, a powerful sect. In fact, he makes an incredibly bold statement in verse 6, that he was actually found "blameless" in the Law. How about that? In other words, if works (specifically circumcision from the context) had anything to do with living life to the full, Paul would be first on the list.
And then conviction to all of us in verse 7: "But whatever things were gain to me, I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ..."
Think about it. This is a guy that had good stuff and accomplished a lot in his life to this point. In modern terms. He'd been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, having all the advantages that brings. A good life, the best schools, knowing all the right people. He got into the right colleges and finished with honors. Getting a good job and the power and prestige that came with it. Lots of promotions. Living the good life.
All rubbish to him. The Message says, "everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by Him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ."
And he lost a lot, too.
He was writing this letter from jail. He'd been working for Christ for 20 years or so at this point and had been beaten within an inch of his life for the priviledge. He'd been attacked even by the Christian leaders of that time. He was a tired old prisoner.
And yet he has joy.
Not because of his works, but because his life didn't depend on works. His eternity was secure in Christ. God would never let him be snatched out of His hand. God wouldn't even let him jump out of His hand. Nope. Once saved, always saved. That's what Psalm 125 and a myriad of other verses say, and that gives him freedom to have joy no matter his circumstances.
He can have joy because he knows God's not sitting up in heaven, looking over the balcony, keeping a scorebook and hoping the good outweighs the bad so we can get into heaven...plugging His ears and going "la la la la can't hear you la la la" when we sin and then hopping back around and paying attention when we confess...that He was a child of the King, a true prince, a co-heir with Christ and there's not a thing that can be done to change that status or enhance it. It's the way we live.
That reality is what allows him to write, at the end of chapter 3, words like this: (from The Message) "But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like His own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around Him."
It's going to be done. That good work which God began in us, well, God will be faithful to complete it (25 points for whoever uses the comments and gives THAT verse!). Regardless of how good or bad we are. It will happen.
And because of that, we're free to live abundantly...windows rolled down favorite music blaring loudly singing full throated abundance...and even that wouldn't do it fully.
And that should spill out all over the place around us into the lives of others. So, today, go ooze the eternally secure life you can't lose and leave a trail of it wherever you go.
Brent 4:54 AM
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