Weekly Meditations: Joy in Christ (Philippians 3:1-11)

Fun fact: this passage was actually the first passage I taught to the middle school group at Hinson, about a year and a half ago.  Tonight (today for you) I am going to look at it through a different lens and break down two world views, of which every person falls into.  Therefore they are black and white, no gray area.  The first is a worldview that finds its joy in this world, this life and themselves.  The second is a worldview that finds its joy in Jesus Christ.

In verses 4-6 Paul tells us how he used to fall in paradigm #1.  All of his joy was found in the world.  He explains his background, Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, basically Paul was a stud as far as Hebrew culture goes.  He was the wealthy, handsome, athletic high-schooler of today's world.  His life was awesome by the world's standards, he was revered, loved and even feared.  I think its safe to say that all of us deep down want this.  We want the wealth, the looks, the abilities, whether athletic, artistic or intellectual.  We want people to like us.  We want people to notice us, to praise us and society uplifts those who are all these things.  Too often do we find our joy in the world; and not just that, we find our meaning in the world and we are consumed by the world.  Our lives are down to a systematic pattern, wake up, shower, eat, go to work or school, come home, go to sleep, start over.  Our goals are consumed by the world.  Get rich, be prettier or more handsome, be smarter, dress better, the list goes on and on.  But this life, this worldview, the joy in all of this, it is so very temporal.  We soon find the thing we strove so hard for is not good enough.  We need something new now.  There is no end to the desires as fulfillment never comes.  But friends, there is a second path, a path to fulfillment.  Take it from Paul.  He had it ALL.  But look at what he says in verse 7.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  Paul gave up his life as a celebrity and he gained so much more.  Friends, life in Jesus Christ is fulfillment.  Jesus is called a spring of life because he quenches our thirst.  Instead of drinking money and a better job or house, relationships, clothes, being cool, being liked, take a drink of the Spring of Life that is Jesus Christ.  A worldview that takes it joy in Christ literally gives up everything else.  Your life slowly becomes shaped to match that of Christ's life.  Worldly things don't matter because of the knowing Christ; that is, putting your faith fully in Christ's death on the cross as atonement for your and all mankind's sins.  Friends, we all of sinned.  You, your mom, your dad, me, my pastor, your pastor (if you have one), Paul and everyone else but one man.  Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived a perfect life then died in place of us.  We deserve the just punishment of God for our sin, but God in his great love send Christ to die in our place.  By putting your faith in this act of atonement, you can receive forgiveness from your sins, eternal life with God and a new heart that yearns for Christ, that takes joy in Christ and that changes your worldview, like Paul, so that you see Christ as all that matters over the many trivial things of this world.

The Bible is often mistaken for a rulebook.  It is true, it has laws in it, however those don't apply directly to us and they cover a very small portion of the entirety of the Bible.  The Bible in fact is a story, the story of God's love and Christ's sacrifice.  The story of how we can gain relationship with God, the same God that created the sun, the moon and stars.  Yes, Christians follow "rules".  Don't cuss, don't get drunk, don't do this or that, but Christians are still sinners like everyone else.  The difference is that Christians have decided to focus their worldview, their joy, around Christ.  So I encourage you today if you have not made the decision to follow Christ yet in your life to do just that.  Yes it may be painful, it may mean changing your lifestyle, it may mean giving things up, but friend, it will be so worth it as you experience the joy of Jesus Christ in this life, and the joy of Jesus Christ forever in eternity.