...this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13
Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14
The Apostle Paul could run with the best of them. Early in Philippians chapter three he tells of all his reasons to boast--a Hebrew, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church and blameless under the law. He had been a smart, hard-charging religious leader among his people. But now he counts all of that as refuse. Oh, he's still running; but he's chasing after something else, even from his prison cell. He's chasing after Jesus and the heavenly calling of God.
What are you running after? Is it worth the effort?
Psalm 34 reminds us that if peace is going to happen in our lives and in this world, we're going to have to chase it. It must be pursued. I wonder what the world would look like if we took all the resources we expend on pursuing security--the trillions of dollars, the human life, the technology we devote to military use--and used it to pursue peace.
How are you being a peacemaker? Is peace a pursuit for you or just a vague hope?
The philosopher and mystic Simone Weil said: "Pain and suffering are a kind of false currency passed from one hand to another until they reach someone who receives them but does not pass them on." Maybe in our post-9/11 world, this is where the pursuit for peace begins.
“A Hebrew, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church and blameless under the law. He had been a smart, hard-charging religious leader among his people.” When Paul says that he 'counts all of that as refuse.' He empties himself of the importance he had in the world to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It sounds like the first part of the hymn where Jesus empties himself and becomes a servant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He was 'putting on the mind of Christ.” This is just another way of interpreting this passage.
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