Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Philippians 3:4-14 (The Message)
3-6The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it. We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book.
7-9The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, 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—God's righteousness.
10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
Focused on the Goal
12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

One of the most famous followers of Jesus is the apostle Paul. Paul was a missionary who started many churches and wrote several books of the Bible. He wrote the book of Philippians from which we read today.

In the first part of this reading, Paul is listing his credentials. He is doing this because many people were bragging about their own credentials and saying they could get to heaven on their credentials alone. (Credentials are all the good qualities you have and the good things you have done.) Paul says that of anybody, he has the best religious credentials there are. But, he would throw them in the trash. Paul knows his credentials are not what will save him. What will save him is knowing Jesus.

Paul also writes that he does not have everything together. He is still in the process of knowing Jesus and living like Jesus did. But even though Paul is not an expert on living like Jesus, he is committed and focused on the goal. Paul writes “I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.”

Can you say, like Paul, “I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back“?