I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
Philippians 1:12
William Berry, a psychotherapist and instructor at the Florida International University has written a striking article in the website of Psychology Today , titled, Imprisoned by Your Life. Few lines from the article. "People are unhappy because they view their lives as prisons. many people feel trapped by aspects of their life, trapped in an unhappy relationship, or trapped in an unfulfilling job. Or they are generally unhappy with their life despite basic needs being met."
As we come to this segment of Chap 1 we see that Paul now turns from the prayer that he has offered for the Philippians, to his own situation in his imprisonment. He is writing to let the church at Philippi know that though he is confined in house arrest, he is nevertheless triumphant in Christ, and rejoicing in the Lord.
It has been at least four years since Paul has seen the Philippians. And they have heard reports of the difficulties that have now happened to their beloved Paul: how he has been arrested, how he has been sent to Rome, how he has suffered ship wreck along the way, and how he is now confined and imprisoned. They are worried for Paul. They are deeply concerned for Paul. Was Paul still in chains, they wondered? Has he come to trial? Has there been a verdict yet? Is Paul even still alive? And so, Paul, writes to give the Philippians this update concerning his condition.
Paul writes that many of the reports that they have heard are in fact true. He is still in chains. His future in still uncertain. And yet, something else is also true, and he wants them to know this: that all these difficulties that have greatly concerned them have worked our for the furtherance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here in verses 12 through 14 is one sentence in which Paul gives a glowing report from prison.
His condition as of now is that he is a prisoner, incarcerated in a jail, but saying, rejoice, rejoice, I'm glad, rejoice. Now, either he's out of his mind, he's been beaten many times and so now his brains are addled, or another chance is that he's lying. He's putting on a good Christian face. Christians are supposed to act this way, rejoice, smile. Or else he's on to something and we need to find out what it is that makes him so joyful.
The reason why Paul says to rejoice is because Paul had a passion in life. He had what psychologists would call a Type-A personality, highly motivated with a single focus. And generally, people like that are highly successful people because they never quit. They never say die and they never give up.
Every one of us, has a master passion - something that drives us. The one thing above everything that we want, or seek for, or want to do more than anything else. For some people it's a career. For other people it's power and for some its money. But, for Paul, his passion was, the gospel. The gospel, the message that changes people's lives was what he lived for because that was his master passion.
Apart from this verse we see that Paul mentions about the gospel in verses 5,7,17, and 27 of the first chapter. If we add up all of the times in all of Paul's writings, he mentions the gospel 72 times.
What was the reason for gospel to become Paul's passion? Looking back at Paul's life we are reminded that he went around putting out the fire of the gospel, keeping it from spreading. He went to Damascus to stop the gospel. Why is this now his passion? Simple answer to that would be - because the gospel was the only thing that could change him. Nothing else could, nothing else did. On that Damascus road, when he saw that light, and heard that voice, and he received Jesus, his life was never the same.
Why aren't we having that passion? Because until we've experienced the gospel's power, we will never have a gospel passion. It's only people who have seen, and felt, and experienced the power of the gospel in their own lives that it becomes to them a passion. William Booth, who started the Salvation Army, said, "some men's passion is for gold. Some men's passion is for art. Some men's passion is for fame. For me my passion is for souls."
Dear Friends, this day, let us examine what we are passionate about? May we too like Paul, be passionate about the gospel because only the gospel can change us.
God Bless you.
"Why is this now his passion?"
ReplyDeleteThe answer appears, I presume, in chapter 2:13, which reads, "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" .
Meaning, obviously, it is not subject to our choice.
God is willing but we have to be obedient. Phil2:12&13 go together.
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