| Cross Words: It’s Not As Bad As It Seems |
Richard Prow ~ rpcrosswords@gmail.com
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The book of Philippians is a mere 4 chapters long. It can be read easily in less than ten minutes. Fifteen tops if you get distracted like I do. In case you haven’t realized it yet, this is an enticement for you to take a break, take a seat, and take up the task of perusing its’ pages.
In its’ 4 short chapters, Philippians contains more tragedy that can be found in an entire season of a bad soap opera. The author, the apostle Paul, finds himself: 1) imprisoned unjustly 2) betrayed for money by some one time supporters 3) at war with a depraved world 4) in the midst of a theological dispute in the church 5) left short-handed by the sickness of one of his few remaining loyal associates. Oh, and I almost forgot, God has made him aware that his life is soon to come to an end. And you thought your life was full of challenges!
Completely mind boggling is that in the midst of all this pain and suffering, Paul uses the word ‘joy’ or its’ ‘counterpart’ rejoice 13 times. More staggering is Paul’s mentioning of Jesus. Fifty plus times Christ appears on the pages of this letter. All of which bares the question. How can you find so much joy and see so much of Jesus when your life seems to be falling apart?
The truth is Paul’s life wasn’t really falling apart. Not the way he viewed it. Paul was able to see God orchestrating as well as working through the supposed “setbacks” in his life. Instead of seeing obstacles, Paul saw opportunities.
Yes he was imprisoned but Paul saw it as an opportunity to preach the Gospel to a captive audience. Yes, greedy impostors had taken over his pulpit but at least they were talking about Jesus. Yes, his protege was deathly ill but it allowed for God to work a miracle by healing him. Yes, Paul’s death was imminent but so would be his entrance into heaven.
Do you get the point? Paul saw a pearl in the midst of an otherwise drab, dull clam shell. He spotted a diamond in the midst of a dark, dirty piece coal. He had joy because at all times he viewed Christ at work in the midst of a depraved, deteriorating world.
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