- Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 2:1-5,

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any
comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any
tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being
like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do
nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not
only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your
attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus..."

Here is a wonderful formula that Paul engages from time to time. As he
exhorts us to live our lives worthy of the Lord, lives that please him
and further his agenda in the world today, he prefaces with a reminder
of what we have already received from the Lord. In essence he is
saying, "Is it too much to ask this of you given what it is the Lord
has so freely given you already?"

Here Paul asks his readers to be "like-minded, having the same love,
being one in spirit and purpose." He asks us to be not selfish and
conceited but be humble to the point of considering "others better
than yourselves." Look to the interests of others and adopt the
humility of Jesus Christ himself.

It must be noted that nothing in what Paul asks is impossible for the
believer. In fact, contrary to contemporary Christianity, where it is
thought that only the Pope himself, or Billy Graham can attain to such
a spiritually mature matters, it is what he expects from all
believers! You and me! We tell ourselves all kinds of lies, provide
ourselves with all kinds of excuses, but the reality is that we all,
everyone who has embraced Jesus Christ in faith, are indwelt with the
Holy Spirit who empowers us to live godly lives. "His divine power has
given us everything we need for life and godliness through our
knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the
corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:3-4.

Since we have everything we need to live out what Paul asks of us in
Philippians 2:1-5, the only issue remaining is the motivation to make
our choice to do so. Here Paul does not fail to provide. He reminds us
of the encouragement we have in being united with the Lord, he reminds
us of his love we have experienced, he points us to the fellowship we
have with the Holy Spirit, the tenderness and compassion found in him.
How can we experience these very things and not have an urgent desire
to reciprocate in some way by making these choices in our lives that
will please the Lord?

I recall Paul utilizing this same technique in his approach to us in
Romans 12:1-2a. There he says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in
view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind." You get the picture.

While we fiddle and piddle around with all our shortcomings, as we
wring our hands over our smoking, or drinking or women or not showing
up to church every Sunday or not contributing to the collection plate,
as we continue to focus on ourselves and our shortcomings with our
eyes off the Lord, we often find ourselves simply chasing our tails
with our struggles. We never arrive at a point where we become
effective and productive for the Lord.

If we are to mature in the Lord, we need to get our eyes off ourselves
and on to the Lord and what he has done for us. In passages such as
Colossians 3:1-4 we find what it is we need to be doing, "Since, then,
you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is
now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory." We need to be setting
our hearts on things above, we need to set our minds on things above.
We need to get our eyes off ourselves and onto the Lord.

This is exactly what Paul does here. After reminding us of all the
wonderful things the Lord has done for us and then asking us to live
our lives in a manner pleasing to him, he launches into one of the
most profound visions provided us of the Lord, enabling us to set our
hearts and minds on him.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."

Breathtaking, isn't it?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com