National Day on Writing - a few minutes late

I’ve been sitting on this for a while, and haven’t posted it because I’m a bit timid. I’m a Christian. There’s nothing that I think more about than Biblical literature, interpretation, and application. But this subject is a bit different than anything else I’ve written about, so expanding into new territory isn’t easy. I figured today, on the National Day on Writing, I would be adventurous.

Four weeks ago I started going to an old school, proper Sunday School at Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church where a friend of mine leads the class. They started a series on the book of Philippians, which is one of my favorite books in the Bible, so I decided I would try it out.

The study started out by looking at Philippians 1:1-26. I was surprised by the idea of Christ’s work in Christians as a process. This is something that had occurred to me, but never quite so explicitly from the Bible. Personally, I had grown weary by the idea that when one “becomes a Christian” everything changes. We are physical beings, with urges and impulses and drives that become so ingrained within us that they become almost impossible to break—almost. But through the work of Christ, over time, change occurs. I think it’s pretty cool, even if it is a little crazy.

The verses that stand out to me, that encourage me in my thinking are Philippians 1:4-6, and 9-11.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Later, after confessing his desire for death more than life and pleading with the Philippians to have the same attitude as Christ, he persists in his emphasis on process oriented Christianity in 2:12-13.

Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Now, chapter 3 of Philippians is probably my favorite chapter in the entire Bible, and in this chapter, specifically verse 12, Paul looks toward his goal and realizes he has far to go.

Not that I have already obtained all this*, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 

*This refers to verses 8-11.

Paul is a man who, if we believe the Bible, heard and saw a blinding vision of the Lord, and this experience transformed him in an amazing way—he stopped persecuting the Church and Christians, became a Christian himself and was himself persecuted. But still this transformation was not absolute or complete. Paul uses words and phrases to represent a process or journey oriented life in Christ. This often is not what is represented in the modern Church, and often not what is presented by Christians as they live their lives. Often I have encountered a Christianity of immediacy and perfectionism, and experienced nothing but a stifling mood. According to Paul, and his letter to the Philippians, this should not be. Why not approach life in Christ as a journey in coming to know Him more? Why not approach living as a Christian as a process in coming to know Christ more, and allowing that experience to change oneself? 

The Sunday School class was really fun for me to attend. It was good to meet some new people, and experience a new a different church experience apart from the one I’ve had for the past nine years. It’s always good to be challenged in my thinking, and I’m grateful that I’ve been exposed to new ways of reading one of my favorite texts. 

This one’s inspired by the Good Book

“A time is coming and has now come.”

These are words attributed to Jesus throughout the Gospel of John. I quote them often, mostly to myself, as a reminder that the time for procrastination has passed. There is no more time. Action must be taken now. In fact, it’s too late for action. I’m feeling like this in so many areas of my life.

Yesterday, at the Life Group (a small group from the church I attend) I lead, a guy who I’ve become very close to, told us that his dad had hours to live. His father has been suffering from a brain tumor for almost a year now, and the end is here. The doctors allowed the family to take him home, where he has now been unconscious for three days. As I type this, I have not heard word how things have gone. This friend shared the news with us, a group that includes three teachers (decent at handling sudden truths) and two counselors (both very good at their jobs), and we were shocked into silence. “A time is coming and has now come.”

Tomorrow begins my final week of preparations before the beginning of my fifth year of teaching. After year one, I figured I could do this for the rest of my life, even if I sucked at it. Now, it’s weird to think that I’ve made it five years. I’ve got meetings all the way until Tuesday, when the students will finally be asked to break their leave and return to the cinderblock city. My responsibilities are growing and changing, and honestly, I’m scared out of my mind. There are so many things that I want to do well, and people that I want to impress, or at least not let down, that I’m almost overcome with anxiousness. “A time is coming and has now come.”

I just got off the phone with a wonderful person, who I’ve only known for a short time, but with whom I feel oddly connected. This is the first time I’ve written about this relationship development, but with this quote in my head, I cannot deny the kernel of an idea ready to pop. I need to process, but I don’t know if I’m ready to publicly. “A time is coming and has now come.”

These scenarios all scare me in one way or another, but they also hold immense hope. Why is it that such a paradoxical statement, like, “A time is coming and has now come” so completely encompasses my confusion on these matters. Lord, I wish I knew the answers.