Today we are going to take a
look at some directions in life with
Paul as he writes to the Philippian church.
In this portion of Paul’s letter I find
some key words that speak of direction in life;
First - Paul says, take a look backward - with the words “forgetting
what is behind;” Then he takes a look forward with the words “straining toward
what is ahead;” Next, he takes a look upward in the words “toward the goal for
which God has called me heavenward;” And, finally, he takes a look inward with
the words “not that I have obtained all this, or been made perfect;”… So, Paul
looks at life backward, forward, upward, and inward, and so will we in the next
few days.I’m sure that you all have heard the saying; “You can’t be in two places at one time”…well, I’m not so sure that that is true. We, as Christians, have a unique role to play. We really are people who live in two places at one time. We are called to be human; born of the flesh, earth people…and, at the same time we are called by our new spiritual birth, to be heavenly people. That calling is to tell other “earth” people who live in this physical realm, of what the other “heavenly realm” is like and why they need to be a part of it!
Look at the last part of verse 18 again; “many live as enemies of the Cross of Christ…their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, their mind is on earthly things.” “But” says Paul, “our citizenship is in heaven.” Even though we now live in a different land, a different place, a different country, a different planet called Earth, our true citizenship is in heaven.
What is the problem with that? ( Some are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good - And, some are so earthly minded that they are no heavenly good!) It’s the problem of becoming so involved in the world’s philosophy, that instead of bringing heaven to earth, we let the earthly things rob us of our heavenly joy! It’s the danger of materialism or “having their minds on earthly things” as Paul puts it. It is the danger of sensual obsession - “Their god is their stomach” says Paul, and we know that that can mean several things. It may literally mean food; it may mean lust; it may mean covetousness; it is a physical desire that is an obsession of any kind, that comes before God and goes against His desire for our lives. When this happens, there is the danger as well of the world “infecting” the church more than the church is “affecting” the world! The Apostle Paul says when that happens it’s time to take a look around…and I am going to change the order just a bit;
A look backward; at sin…( it’s gone! It’s forgiven! It’s thrown “into the sea of forgetfulness, never to be remembered again!” We can’t play the “coulda, shoulda, woulda” game with the past. “Forget all that”, says Paul. Not that we should forget “from whence we came” but, don’t dwell on the past, nor live in the past. We can’t look back on the “good ole’ days” and depend on them today. We live in a different world, a different time, a different generation. We also can’t look back on our salvation and say, “That’s good enough” - God’s Word tells us that we need to “work out” our salvation. It’s O.K. to reminisce about the past, but the reality is, we live in the present, and we ought to be concerned about the future.
Next, Paul takes an upward look. In this, Paul borrows on the analogy of an athlete. Paul is ready to fix his heart, mind, and soul, on the prize, on the goal. We must bear the pain of sacrifice and suffering, and the discipline of training and preparing, if we are to be winners for eternity. Walk the beach along the Ocean; pick up a single grain of sand; it represents an earthly, momentary, pleasure compared to eternity. We have a heaven-ward call that is worth far more than a single pleasure here on earth.
Then Paul takes an inward look. There is a danger as well in looking back and looking up; and that is to become dissatisfied with where we are! This is why the mature experience teaches us to look inward to find balance. Paul says “I’m not there yet!” “I’m far from perfect!” “I have a lot to learn and do!” The Christian life is one of constant learning and growing. To stop growing is not a sign of maturity; it is a sign of arrested development.
Finally, Paul looks forward. Back in verse 12 he says “I press on” and in verse 13 he says “I strain toward what is ahead.” The words in the Greek meant to “pursue relentlessly!” This isn’t a Sunday stroll in the park, this is a race, it’s a race against time; it’s a race against a more than able opponent, and, it needs to be run with diligence and determination until we cross the finish line. I have looked in the Bible, and although it says you can retire at age fifty, it is speaking of working, not learning; not about growing; not about running the race…the race is lifelong.
Perhaps we could add one more; We need to take a look around, and see the number of people who don’t even know there is a race going on!….
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