Philippians 3:1-21
No Confidence in the Flesh on Earth
1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Sometimes I wonder why God doesn't give His children constant joys and good times on earth...Why doesn't He take away the evil and take away our sufferings?...After all we do not like to suffer, and we do not want troubles in our lives...But regardless of who we are there are times of troubles...
Author C. S. Lewis talks about our moments of happiness and our good times on earth, and he compares them to some pleasant inns...Lewis tells us that we must not mistake our good times for our real home and our return to our real home after our deaths...We have a journey though life and are pilgrims, on our Way to heaven...And we take our pilgrimage in life and make our Way towards Jesus, our Savior....
Paul was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth...He was from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin...He was a true Jew, and so were his parents...The law was very important to him...That is why he became a Pharisee...He was so eager to defend his religion that he was persecuted by the church...And no one could find fault with the way he obeyed the Law of Moses...At one time all these things were very important to him...But because of Jesus, he decided that they are worth nothing...Not only these things, but now he thought that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Jesus is our LORD...Because of Jesus, Paul lost all these things, and now he knew that they were all worthless trash...All he wanted now is Jesus...He wanted to belong to Him...In Jesus, he is right with God, but his being right does not come from following the law...It comes from God through faith...God used Paul's faith in Jesus to make him right with God...All that he wanted is to know Jesus and the power that raised Him from His death on the cross...He wanted and did share in his sufferings and be like him even in his death...Then there is hope that Paul himself and all of us will somehow be raised from death...
As St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, our citizenship is in heaven...And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the LORD Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, He will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body and we will be in heaven with our Father and His Son... Even if Paul was able to trust in himself, still he would not...If anyone else thinks they have a reason to trust in themselves, they should know that they have a greater reason for doing so...He trusted in the LORD...And Paul became one of our Great Saints, St. Paul...
C. S. Lewis wrote, “The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment He has scattered broadcast... We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy...It is not hard to see why...The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency...Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”...
These happiness's and good times, we should enjoy while on earth...These happiness's and good times, these "pleasant inns" are given to us by Jesus which helps us lead a more abundant life on our journey through life...God has given us these joys and pleasant times to enjoy our life's journey, to feel His Pleasure, and to give us gratitude towards our Father...Let us rejoice unto the LORD...