I have been challenged a lot recently by the question of discipleship. Its a major theme as we seek a way forward to maturity for my church and, as a leadership, we take seriously the oversight of the people in our care.
It isn’t easy being a Christian. The challenges are great as we strive to get along together with other Christians, people of God’s choosing and not ours. The sacrifices couldn’t be greater as we are called to die to ourselves and live to the Lord, being in but not of the world. We are not our own, but belong to another, and growing in our discipleship finds us almost daily having to choose a different path, rearrange our priorities, see the world quite differently to how our neighbours see it.
In our house group we recently looked at Paul’s exhortations in Philippians 4 and I think there is an example and a lesson here for us. He writes to two people in the Philippian church who had found a reason to quarrel and pleads with them to get along:
“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yoke-fellow, to help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life.” (Philippians 4:2-3)
It has always popular to cast Paul as a misogynist but here, as in many other places in his letters, we find evidence to the contrary. He urges these women to get along not least because of who they are, and because of what they mean to him. These are women who have worked alongside Paul in the cause of the gospel, women he regards as “fellow-workers” in mission and church planting.
Sometimes we can forget who we are and revert to our old, worldly ways. When we do that we find our daily walk with God a struggle every step, our spiritual life suffers and, more to the point, we become ineffectual in ministry just like Euodia and Syntyche. Like these two women, we become a burden instead of a benefit. We can draw others into the orbit of our distractions, and the church becomes poorly served by us and them.
Paul goes on in the next few verses to describe the Christian life in which we are to:
Stand firm in the Lord (v.1)
Rejoice in the Lord – always (v.4)
Be gentle and not anxious (v.v.5-6)
Be thankful and prayerful (v.6)
Thinking about what is right and good (v.8)
Putting into practice what we learn (v.9)
Being content (v.11)
All this becomes a mountain to climb when our minds and hearts are focussed on ourselves. We don’t know what the quarrel between these women was about but Paul clearly felt it more than capable of being resolved and urged them to resolve it. They simply couldn’t go on in this way. There are times for everyone when we must put our work down and seek rest, refuge, when we must refocus, examine ourselves (2 Cor.13:5) remember who we are, what we are about.
Paul reminds us of these very things earlier in his letter, where he urges us to imitate Christ in his humility (Philip.2:1-11); continue to work out our salvation (Philip.2:12-13); having confidence in Christ alone (Philip.3:7-11), and to press on to the goal (Philip.3:12-15) which is:
“Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ., who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious bodies. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!” (Philip.3:20-4:1)
We stand firm and stay strong in our Christian walk first by remembering who we are, citizens of a heavenly kingdom, subjects of a heavenly king who won for us that citizenship at great cost. By remaining firm in the knowledge that his power, a power that will bring everything under his control, is the same power that is daily making us fully fit for that heavenly citizenship; this work is the work of discipling, the work of the church in the life of the disciple.
Christians are not an audience come to appreciate the preacher, not customers come to test the service of the church. Christians are the church and the opportunity to serve is ours. In light of this vision, this reward surely we can stand firm and stay strong, overcoming every temptation to act like it’s all about me and agreeing with each other, “in the Lord.” As Paul wrote:
“Forgetting what is behind, and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view.” (Philip.3:14-15)
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