Passage
Brothers and sisters, become fellow imitators with me. And regard closely the ones who live
customarily in this manner just as you all have us as an example. For many– about whom I was speaking to you all
often and even now about whom I speak while lamenting – live customarily as
enemies of the cross of Christ. Their
end is destruction. Their god is the
stomach and glory is in their shame. These
are the ones who give serious consideration to earthly things.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Paul encourages the Philippians to become a fellow imitator. As Paul imitates Christ, he invites the
Philippians to come alongside of him and do likewise. However, notice that in order to do this Paul
tells them that they have to watch others closely. They have to watch them not to judge them on
an eternal scale but rather to discover the patterns and behaviors that are worthy
of imitation. The Christian life is
fundamentally about looking closely and deeply into the lives of others so we
can learn and imitate.
How good are you at looking deeply into the life of someone
you want to imitate? What do you need in
order to be able to look closely? How
good are you at letting others look closely into your life in order to imitate
Christ as He is seen in you?
Second Thought:
Paul laments over the multitudes that
are focused on their life. Paul laments
over the multitudes that are living for the things of this world. Paul laments over just how many people in
this age are pursuing goals that won’t bring long-lasting fulfillment. They do not realize that in choosing the
world they are also not choosing Christ.
In the pursuit of things that will not last they are also becoming an
enemy to the cross of Christ. This is troubling
to Paul, because he cares for people.
Paul – in imitating the God he serves – loves people and wants them to
find fulfillment in life rather than the things of this world.
What have you chased in your life
that ultimately wasn’t fulfilling? How
did that make you an enemy of the cross of Christ for a time? How did you overcome that experience?
Third Thought:
Again in Paul’s work we find this idea of focus or
consideration to be a significant concept.
If we care about the goals and desires of the world, then our end is destruction
and we are to be shamed. This doesn’t
mean we should shun the world and go into the mountains and forsake the world,
either. What it means is that our goal
is Jesus Christ. We need to learn to
interact in the world so that Jesus Christ is the outcome. We need to learn how to interact with the
world so that the things of the world are not the goal but rather the means to
engaging others with the grace, love, and mercy of God.
Why is it so easy to get wrapped up in the things of the
world so that they become our goal? How
can you continue to move past – or through – the things of the world to be with
God? What things of this world can you
use to engage others in the things of God?
Passage for Tomorrow: Philippians 3:20-4:1
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