Maybe the Beatles were onto something (or on something?) when they wrote All You Need Is Love. But, the love they were referring to wasn't the agape--or unconditional love--our Savior drenches us in. As we conclude the final chapter in Exodus (hooray!) and forge our way towards the Christmas season, there's no more ideal time than this to pause and be steeped in His love.
What we once thought was worthwhile and we worked tirelessly to gain, we now discover it brings no satisfaction. In Paul’s words, it is considered a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. It’s garbage in Paul’s book – or, in modern terms, we could insert the “pile of poo” emoji. This world offers stinky bile (you’ll not forget that reference the next time you get a text message!).
Amidst the turmoil and pain, Paul excavated a sublime treasure available to us: joy. Divided into four episodes (chapters), you have the opportunity to become both Paul’s housemate and fellow bondslave to Christ. Paul wasn’t in a dark and damp chamber, but was under house arrest. During this two-year period, Paul was under guard, yet was permitted to receive guests and to teach freely. This puts things into perspective for us. This world can seem like a prison at times – it’s not our forever home or place of rest. Nevertheless, God commissions us to receive others and to teach them His word (Matthew 28:19-20). Let’s live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ by listening to what God speaks to us through the book of Philippians:
