The text for today comes from Philippians 3:7-16. This extended reading is usually divided into two sections: 7-11, 12-16. Three goals are suggested by the passage. What will it take in 2022 for me to grow spiritually? What should I pay closest attention to? In the passage, I see three commitments, three goals to guide our Christian walk, our spiritual lives.
I WILL NOT BECOME COMPLACENT. Reading vv. 7-11, one sees the exact opposite of complacency. The text deserves a careful reading and brief explanation. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
After the Damascus Road encounter, Paul could never be complacent; he would never be satisfied with mediocrity. Paul established a singular FOCUS in his life. Seeking applications from the text suggests to me how easily we are satisfied in our Christian walk. We are too easily satisfied. Mediocrity is too often sufficient. We are happy to repeat the past — doing the same things, hoping for different results. We see, feel the complacency but do not address it. We must be willing to change, we must keep up. We must seize opportunities, walk through open doors. We must learn, grow, develop, dream, expand, plan, escape. Passion must burn ever brighter. Complacency will stall you, bring you struggles, and silence your heart. When complacency sets in, we stay where we are and repeat the same things over and over. Here is a helpful prayer — “God, make me dissatisfied!” I will escape complacency.
I WILL LET GO OF THE PAST. The contrast that Paul sets forth, comparing the past and the future, is a familiar and popular Bible text to many people. Nonetheless, it deserves a quick overview. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
The future is often hindered by the past. What we have done in the past will never be good enough again! We do not move forward effectively by looking in the rearview mirror. We do not move forward by repeating what we have always done. We do not move forward without developing spiritual vision that gazes longingly at the things of God and seeks the way forward. You will struggle to move forward if you allow your vision to be limited and fail to plan. Some fail to plan because planning was not necessary in the past. Sometimes churches swell without doing much; they get by without much intentional planning. What a tragedy! What could have been! How much more would have been accomplished in the kingdom by aligning resources and focusing on God’s priority? You can count on this – to fail to plan is to plan to fail. The past is like an anchor, weighing you down and holding you back. The past can inform my future, but the past must never define my future.
I WILL PRESS ON TOWARD GOD’S GOAL. Pressing on requires consistent energy, purpose, priority, planning. The goal must be visible, the way to reach it defined. I repeat, planning is essential. What is the goal? What is the path forward? I identify the path and I press onward, letting God guide me forward. To know Jesus is our aim. His love compels us. He holds our future. “As many as are mature, let us think this.” What is “this?” Vv. 12-14? The entire context? “If in any point, you (plural) think differently (something else), also this God will reveal to you.” Is Paul opening the door to minor variations of thinking? Is he referring to the opponents, persons with conflicts, or false teachers? Two options are possible. God will reveal the truth to those who think differently. God will reveal to the mature who they are who think differently. The test of thinking is in the actions that come from the thinking. Paul urges them to walk in step, conform, to what has been attained up this point. The verb is different than he one he uses earlier in the passage.
Each year, I take some time to write down goals for the coming year. One of the documents that I update is titled, “Living Intentionally.” Obviously, one doesn’t have to do that. Living is, in one sense, automatic. You keep living, but life does not feel much like life. I remember a section from Katherine Porter’s Ship of Fools, in which a character awakened in his coffin and remarked, “I can’t be dead! I’ve never really lived!”
If I could sum up these three ideas from Philippians 3 in one concept, the goal is to LIVE INTENTIONALLY! I will be intentional – each day focused, looking forward, anticipating the future.