Promise from Prison

Paul's letter to the Philippians is saturated with hope, joy, thanksgiving and promise. Interesting attitude from the Apostle Paul since he was not only in a Roman prison but chained to a prison guard at all times. In this short letter, Paul expresses deep affection for the church at Philippi and he capitalizes on his suffering situation to outline the way mature, committed Christians should act.

I believe that Philippians 1:27 is a summary for the rest of the letter. Paul writes , "whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." Throughout the letter, he then focuses on conduct that is worthy of the good news Christ brings: thanksgiving, suffering, serving, pursuing, and peace.

The most important words in this verse are the first two - "whatever happens." Paul's message has great impact and integrity because he is in prison - certainly not the best of places. His situation silently underscores the idea that we can act in a manner worthy of the King no matter what happens to us or where we are.

But how is that done? A lot of it involves the depth of our relationship with Christ. From behind bars, Paul opens his letter by expressing thankfulness for the Philippians and sharing that he often prays for them with joy - in spite of his circumstances.

The Christian is called to suffering and service because of the model of Jesus Christ:
"who . . . made Himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a
servant . . .
He humbled himself
and became obedient to
death ---
even death on a cross!"

Christ's humility and suffering are the model for Christians seeking to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the Risen Lord.

The next issue for Christian conduct is pursuing Christ above all else. Paul expresses the infinite superiority of knowing Christ to anything else on earth. He makes the famous statement that "to live is Christ and to die is gain." Paul properly understands the order of priority for his life - in life he is able to serve Christ but in death he gains the promise of eternity with the Christ he knows and loves so deeply. He also writes that he "considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Few Western Christians show this level of readiness, but instead cling to this world for all that it is worth.

Finally, Paul shares God's promise of peace and contentment that is available through prayer, whatever the circumstances. Interestingly, he begins the letter by sharing his prayer of thanksgiving and closes with the promise of peace through prayer. We can only imagine that Paul spent great amounts of time praying to His Father while behind bars - where else could his immense peace and joy come from?

Philippians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. It is encouraging but it is also convicting. If you're like me, Paul's call to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ brings a bright light into some dark places. Do I give thanks? Am I willing to suffer? Am I serving Christ? Is He my chief pursuit far above all else? Do I have the peace of Christ? Am I content in Him, whatever the circumstances?

The willingness to suffer, serve and pursue God is ultimately found in a faith-filled, dynamic relationship with Him. Few of us would suffer for someone we don't know well or at all. Or serve the man behind a curtain. But when we, like Paul, draw close to the Savior and King we are filled with such love and grace that we want to give all and serve all in our pursuit to glorify Him - whatever happens.