Philippians 4:6 - 9 to Frank (2)

 

Dear Frank,

What do you see in Philippians 4:6 – 9?

While there are many facets to this kaleidoscope, which is I imagine inexhaustible, I’ll touch on just a few.

I have a friend who tells me that when people come to him for help in Christ that what they usually seek is a “quick start guide.” That is, they want their problems solved quickly so they can get on with life and pretty much continue what they were doing before the problems arose. I suppose this is human nature, and therein lies part of our true problem – human nature. We want to support our human nature, to sustain ourselves, to make ourselves better. As one misguided popular personality says, we want our “best lives now.”

Well my friend, here is the thing, our loving God has one solution (if we can call it that) for our human nature, the Cross of Jesus Christ – the death of ourselves. Our Father is not interested in fixing something that can’t be fixed, in renovating that which is already dead. (Yes, yes, there is language of renewal and renovation and correction in the Bible, but its context is the new creation in Christ, its context is Jesus Christ as our Foundation).

There is a sense in which we have been crucified with Christ (see Romans 6 and Galatians 2:20; 6:14), and also a sense in which we are being crucified with Christ. In other words, while we have been crucified with Christ once and for all, the outworking of that crucifixion continues in our lives. The reason that all things work together for good for those who love God is that the “good” is our transformation into the image of Jesus Christ – Romans 8:28 – 30. If we don’t “get this” then we don’t get Romans 8:28 – and I’ll say that few professing believers do in fact “get this.” We are too self-centered to see that life is about bringing glory to Jesus Christ, it is not about us.

And so, when folks come to Philippians 4:6 – 9 they often view it as a quick start guide; they want to immediately experience the peace of God which passes all understanding and get on with their lives – not necessarily the lives that Christ has for them, but rather their lives as they have planned, lives centered around themselves as the center of the solar system. (Don’t we all want to be the sun in the solar system? Don’t we tend to view all things as being oriented toward ourselves?)

Is this not akin to the crowds seeking Jesus for the bread and fish? (John 6:26). We ought not to deceive ourselves into thinking that Jesus will dumb down His demands and claims upon us, for the result of His Message to the crowd was, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” (John 6:66). Do we forget that Jesus is God and that He deserves all that we have and all that we are? Do we forget that we have been bought with a price and that we no longer belong to ourselves? (1 Cor. 6:19 – 20).

 

What do we see in Philippians 4:6 – 9?

 

Much love,

 

Bob