Philippians Chapter 3
By Pastor Chris
Stay On Target …
I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.
Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I’ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I’m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ’s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. But there’s far more to life for us.
- Paul, in his letter to the Philippians
Have you ever been driving and had your vision blurred by a heavy fog? Two years ago, while driving a group down to Mexico for a mission trip, we were heading down a stretch of highway in Utah where the weather tends to be very strange. Sudden snow storms, thundering rain or on this day the thickest fog we had ever seen. It came out of nowhere and was suddenly all around us. As I began to slow the van down, suddenly out of the fog emerged a semi parked in the middle of the road. We skidded to a stop just shy of the truck and ended up inches from hitting it. I fearfully looked up into the rear view mirror and saw the van traveling behind us coming fast … they had just entered the fog and had not yet seen us. I helplessly braced for impact and watched as I could see the driver’s realization that we were stopped in the road. At the last moment he veered into grassy the median and bounced along until safely stopping out of sight in the fog. We pulled ourselves into the median and drove the length of the stopped traffic. We discovered that we had been the first vehicles to stop before plowing into a line of 80 vans, trucks, cars, and more than a few tipped semi-trucks.
Fog is surprisingly dangerous. It keeps us from seeing the important things in front of us and makes it difficult to navigate the path we are on. In Philippians 3, Paul warns against one of the roadblocks of closely following God: there are times when we cannot see God clearly. Sometimes we have such difficulty in even seeing where God has been. There is so much going on around us that our focus is blurred in the fog of life. Paul urges the Philippians to stay on track and also gives them hope that God will eventually clear their vision. Paul also addresses the idea of not seeing God clearly in 1 Corinthians 13. We find his solution in this chapter to be simple, yet profound. When we lose our way, can’t see God, and are waiting for our vision to clear — our blind response to God is to love. Love is what keeps us on track and what helps us stay close to the God we long to see. In both places Paul promises that “there is far more life for us” when we stay on target and love.
