Theological Commentary: Click Here
In the final
chapter of Philippians, Paul gives us his final pieces of advice. His crowning piece of advice is to rejoice in
the Lord. Our relationship with God
should give us reason to be joyful.
After all, if God promises life eternal, what temporary adversity can
harm that joy? Of course, that doesn’t
mean we can be happy all the time.
Things will come up in life that will make us unhappy or angry. But such times should be fleeting. Our normal status quo should be an air of
rejoicing.
What can our
attitude of rejoicing lead to? First of
all, our rejoicing should lead us to less anxiety. If we are with the Lord, and the Lord can
grant eternal life to us, what have we to be concerned about? Again, there will be a few small things that
do make us anxious. We can’t help being
anxious from time to time. But that
should not be our standard feeling.
Anxiety, when it comes, should be a fleeting feeling instead of one that
dominates us.
The second
effect is that we should have peace. If
the Lord is where our trust resides, what can the world throw at us that the Lord
cannot bring us through? Sure, we won’t
have perfect lives. Even Jesus, the only
sinless man, was crucified! God can
bring us through our troubles. That should
give us a peace that passes all understanding.
Because of
this, we should put our mind on the things that are good and pure. In other words, this goes back to the end of
yesterday’s passage. We aren’t saved by
our works, but our works should give evidence of our salvation. If we have an abundance of joy, if we have
the ability to let go of anxiety, if we have a peace that passes all
understanding, why would we not desire to focus on the good and pure things of God? Why would we not want to practice such
things?
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