Philippians 1:21-30
21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me, yet I cannot say which I will choose. 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 for you. 25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26 so that, by my presence again with you, your boast might abound in Christ Jesus because of me.
27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel 28 and in no way frightened by those opposing you. For them, this is evidence of their destruction but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. 29 For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ but of suffering for him as well, 30 since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…
St. Paul often reminds me of my parents and also of myself as a parent. While our children are young, and with us all the time, we do our best to help them develop discerning hearts and minds that will lead them into morally and ethically appropriate decisions. When we send them out into the world, we trust that the values and behaviors that they’ve observed in us and learned from us will guide their behavior. We also remind them, on the way out the door, that we expect them to behave in ways that make us proud.
St. Paul frequently reminds us to live in ways that make Jesus proud: 27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. This isn’t about remembering every word of the Gospels, or everything we’ve learned about Jesus. It’s about trusting that our faith has been formed in Christian Community – that our hearts and minds have developed around God’s Word. When we go out into the world, we trust that our instinctive choices will come from that grounding in the Word. The only hard part is training our will to trust those instincts every time…
Prayer: Lord Jesus: Thank you for St. Paul, and all the faithful witnesses in my own life who have formed my faith and trained me in your Word. AMEN