Another Day Closer

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:17-21 ESV). Today’s devotional may seem a bit morose. I hope you will stay with me until the end of this short bit of rumination. While I am writing this a few days early in order to get it to the publishers of the web site, I am looking forward to celebrating my sixty-seventh birthday on this day. I have chosen today’s reading because it seems to be a summary of one of the greatest temptations of our day. As I grow older I can only count the days, months, and years in terms of how much closer I am to the end of this earthly life. That’s the morose part. Please be assured that I am doing all that I can to follow the doctors’ orders to extend that time as much as possible. And, I now have several other “care-takers” that watch closely over my behavior. In fact, now that my granddaughter has a cell phone, whenever I do something that doesn’t seem to be in my best interest, she immediately texts both her grandma and her parents to “tattle.” I suppose that’s a good thing, though it does seem a bit extreme. At any rate, go back to our reading for a moment. The Apostle Paul draws a clear contrast between those who are enemies of the cross and those who are not. He says, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” In these sixty-seven years I have seen the relevance of this description to our culture. People do seem more interested in satisfying their personal desires (belly); they do seem to celebrate their rebellion (glory in their shame); and, there is little doubt that their concentration is on temporal pleasure (earthly things). Paul’s answer to all of that is that we remember our citizenship is heaven. This is simply not our home. With that thought, he comes to the conclusion that our struggles and failures all will be completely swept away in the power of our Savior. Now, that is a thought that is worth celebrating. I cannot say with the apostle that you should imitate me. I have had plenty of moments that can only be classified as a failure; however, that moment in 1969 when I was born again takes all of those moments and casts them aside in favor of the overwhelming victory I have through Jesus. I am one day closer to receiving the reward of that great gift of grace in a way that cannot be imagined now in this life. So, celebrate with me that we are both one day closer!