Philippians 3:15-16- A Flash of Light

Scripture:
Philippians 3:15-16
15) Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different
attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
16) however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

Observation:
-what is this about being perfect?
-"have this attitude"...looking back to the previous verses this attitude is the one thing Paul does, forgetting what is behind, looking ahead and pressing on.
-If my attitude differs from Paul, God will reveal what I need to know.
-Paul encourages us to all live by the same standard...Is this Christ?

Application:

I had one of those early mornings this morning.  Awake at 4 AM, well actually, just finally  looked at the clock at 4, and decided I might as well get up and change my perspective.  Nothing in particular on my mind, just the way some mornings go.  So I called my two early morning buddies who are always ready to go, Woofie and Anya and made myself comfortable in my rocking chair on the back patio.  The stars were out and I immediately saw two meteors streak across the sky.  Cool.  Soon there was a brilliant flash of light, as if someone way out there in space had just snapped a photo and the flash went off.  Emerging from that flash was what looked to be a satellite that faded from view within just a couple of seconds.  I checked online and can say that I did indeed witness an Iridium flare.  Basically, that is what occurs when certain satellites not visible to us normally, reflect the sun just right and we get to see a brilliant show.

I did not have my camera, but this photograph from http://www.astronomyhouston.org is pretty close to what I saw this morning.

I was thinking about that phenomenon in relationship to what I wrote last time on Philippians 3:12-14.    There are all kinds of things up there in the sky, but until the sun hit this particular object just right I could not see it.  And wow, did it catch my attention with its brilliance!  I want my life to be like that.  Paul's was;  he reflected the light of the Lord Jesus Christ in a brilliant way.  

I am not perfect, Paul was not either, I much prefer the translations that use the word mature in this case: Let us then, who are mature, have this attitude...Paul is not writing this particular encouragement to the new believer in Christ, he is writing it to those of us who are no longer babes in the faith.  What does it look like to be a mature Christian?  Again, I go back to my last post: a mature Christian is forgetting what lies behind, moving forward, and pressing on.  We are reminded in these verses that we need to continue to strive towards the goal, we cannot give in to the pressures of this life to be less than who we are in Christ.  If I hide myself from the Son of God, if I do not allow myself to reflect His light and thus shine brightly where He has placed me; I am not pressing on.  I am looking behind me at the world and all its enticements, all of its lies.  I have to look forward to reflect the Son.  I have to position myself properly.

But what does that look like?  This is supposed to be the application part of this process.  Our goal is Christ, to be with Him and to know Him.  Until I am actually with Him in heaven I will not be perfect.  But I want to be, and that involves work again.  It seems I always come back to the same conclusion, I need to be in God's Word.  Everything I know about Christ is found there.  Everything He desires of me in this life is found there.  I need to read it, to really study it, to ask God to help me understand it. Like Paul said, if I have a different attitude, God will reveal it to me; but not apart from His Word.  And then, armed with what I currently know, I need to apply the teachings of His Word to my life; to my actions, to my thoughts.

I have had a few good days, I have continued to work on my attitude and done a much better job of living out 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 with my husband.  I need to stay on top of that; keep pursuing those changes so that today will be even better than yesterday, and tomorrow even better than that.  I am so far from perfection, but I press on.


Blessings!
Deb

My four-legged friends: Anya and Woofie.