Philippians 1
27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have
With one mind. Striving side by side. I'm noticing a trend in Philippians. Maybe instead of calling it "The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians" the early Church fathers should have called this "On the Unity of the Body".
I know this is theological impressionism here, but the alegory here of "striving side by side" conjurs images in my mind of war. Maybe it's because I'm a history teacher but it makes me think specifically of the picture of the soldiers raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Striving side by side. In the midst of war with the enemy. And in a very real but unseen way, we are at war with "principalities, powers, and spiritual darkness" (Ephesians 6). Our enemy is a crafty coward. Instead of fighting directly, he figures out ways to lull us to sleep, distract us, divide us. We get so caught up in living the lives we've made for ourselves that we forget to live for the One who made us. We forget there even is a war. We get so caught up in theological duels with other Christians that we let the "enemy of our souls" escape. We must remember, if we are indeed soldiers, that this isn't a peace-keeping mission, because we know peace will not last here until our Leader returns. This is not a war to be won except by the Rider on the White Horse (Revelation 19). This is a rescue mission. "To seek and to save the lost."
If only we could see our lives in light of eternity. Then we might lay down our guns, lay the peripheral things aside, and focus on lives.
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