Stellar Motivation


Philippians 1:18–30
18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. 27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was forced to put his mom in hospice. The family was simply unable to adequately care for her and so the decision was made. His mom accepted this with grace and from what she understood of hospice, it meant that her time here was short. After five days in that situation she looked at her son and demanded to know why she was still here on this earth. She figured “hospice” was synonymous with “soon to be with Jesus” and it was taking too long! She longed to be with the Lord. God took her home shortly after that conversation and her son confessed to me that his joy for his mother exceeded his own personal pain at her passing. We are a people who die with hope (which means “confident expectation”) in an eternity spent in the presence of God. Who wouldn’t embrace such a future?

This is what we find Paul expressing in our reading for today. There he sat, in a Roman prison, and he could find joy in whatever the outcome of that experience would be; either release or execution. Throughout this passage, we find that Paul’s main goal in life is to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an amazing goal and one that begs the question about our own motivations. How often do we utilize our opportunities, (positive and negative!), as a chance to bring glory to Christ? How would viewing your tasks through that lens change your direction during the day? I confess that it seems like a positive twist on the whole day. Perhaps those tasks that I would rather not do might take on a different texture. And the tasks I love would be all the sweeter.

While I may occasionally look to the Lord and wonder with my friend's mom why I'm still here, I know that every moment I'm here has an important outcome. I can bring glory to Christ with my words and my actions. Paul’s passion to glorify Christ stands as a shining role model of the Christian walk and one that is truly inspiring. Assigning that goal to every task will require intentionality and of course, I’ll fail sometimes. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try. On to the first task!

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