Purpose

Today's text: Philippians 3:7-15

I started today's morning reading with 1 Corinthians 9, then read Philippians 3. It occurs to me that the reason many of us don't feel peace in our lives because we aren't focused on the right things in life. If you're thinking, "Well, gee Chris, that's not exactly an earth shattering revelation," you are correct. There is a reason Paul writes that "it is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you" (Phil 3:1, NIV). It's because we are human, preoccupied with our own lives and occasionally dense to what the Lord has to say. Sometimes it takes a 2x4 to slow us down long enough to consider what God's trying to tell us. (Or repetitive writing of the same message).

Paul had his priorities. And he considered everything this world has to offer to be "rubbish" in comparison with Christ. I read these words of Paul. I sense his passion for Christ, his zeal to "press on toward the goal."

Then I look at my own life. And I consider where this race is leading me. What prize lies at the end? If there be any glory at the finish line, whose is it? Where are the everyday things I do repeatedly getting me?

I'll leave you to read these Scripture passages and ponder the questions yourself. Write down your thoughts. Reflect on them. Be prayerful about how you spend / squander / invest your life. Comment if you'd like.