“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13
Boo yah. Through Jesus I am well-nigh invincible. Brimming with power. Clearly, if this verse means nothing else, it means that God wants whatever sports team I play on to win, and if I am called on to perform some semi-mythical feat to do it, I CAN.
60-yard field goal here I come.
Wait, what’s that? I might want to check the context? Mmmmm, I don’t know. That’s risky. All right, I suppose…
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:11-13
Well. That’s a little different, isn’t it? A bit more challenging. “I have learned to be content,” says the man in prison for preaching the gospel.
Earlier in the letter he says, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)
It’s not that God cares about my football game one way or the other, it’s that I should care about the work of God, and being within and doing the will of God. You can’t threaten a man who isn’t afraid of death. There’s no leverage against a person who views the loss of his personal freedoms, or his life, as a trifle compared to the ongoing expansion of the kingdom of God.
And did you notice that Paul had to learn to be content in prosperity and in being filled? We have the deep seated myth in our culture that abundance equals contentment, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Whether in abundance or in need we can do all things – especially that most elusive of things, being content - through Him who strengthens us.
1 comment:
Well said and welcome back.
Post a Comment