“…as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all
ashamed, but that with full courage now as always
Christ will be honored in my body,
whether by life or by death.”
Phil 1:20 (ESV)
About 14 years ago I made a choice with my brain that would affect my body for a long time.
Raising teenagers can be difficult and I felt the distance between my two daughters and myself growing, conversations getting more clipped, hugs getting less warm. What to do? I wondered how I could connect with them on a deeper level? How could I challenge them to explore who they were, and see themselves like I saw them…beautiful, passionate, capable, courageous?
Run a half marathon of course.
I know, right?! I don’t think you’ll find that in the Top 10 Ways to Connect with Your Teen parenting books. It wasn’t an easy sell, I seem to remember pleading and bribing to get them to agree but they eventually they said yes, I was thrilled.
I’ll be blunt. I am not, nor ever have been, a natural runner. I ruptured a disc in my back a couple of years before this event and was still trying to understand my body in a new season of pain and daily stiffness. A neurosurgeon I saw at the time told me everyone is different; I would have to find my own path to healing but the best way to ruin the rest of my life would be to stop being active. So, I started out with walking, and then weight training and eventually decided to test my body with running.
I hated it!!
I can’t tell you how bad I hated it. I hated it so bad that I knew I would stop if I didn’t find some support. Enter 2 teenage daughters. I began not only running for myself but I ran for them~ to be a good example, to support them, to push them and challenge them to see that they could do something hard and conquer their fears. Train, Focus. Stick to a schedule. Get out there when the weather is bad, get out there when the weather is good. Put in the time.
Training with them for the half marathon holds special memories for me, it brought us closer, and we accomplished a goal side-by-side. I was and still am incredibly proud of them.
The big eye-opener for me? I had no idea how strong-willed our bodies are! When they get tired they want to quit. When they are sore they whine incessantly. Our bodies want to call the shots and make the decisions, but our brains have to override our bodies or we’ll be stuck in a fleshly puddle of nothingness forever.
So, when I felt like quitting, I’d tell myself you can keep going.
When the wall felt like a long way off, I’d tell myself be patient, each step brings you closer.
When I was sure that day’s run was too long and too far and too hard, I’d tell myself when you’re done, you will have accomplished something extraordinary!
I’ve never forgotten it.
Let’s put our verse into context. From verses 12-19 Paul tells the Philippians that his imprisonment has actually been part of a wonderful plan to preach the gospel to a group of people that otherwise may never have heard it. We chatted about that in Prison Decisions. Remember altitude, attitude and action?
Well that rubbed off on the new believers and as a result vs 14 tells us that Paul’s prison sentence actually made them super bold, they started sharing the word with everyone they met without being afraid of their own lives or comforts.
The believers are praying for him and the Holy Spirit is helping him. We catch a glimpse into his heart as he shares his battle between staying in the body so he can continue to proclaim the gospel or leaving his body (dying) so he can be in the presence of Christ (vs 21-26).
Why the struggle?
What hangs in the balance? People that have not heard about the Savior. So in vs 24 Paul states that for the time being it will be best for him to stay in the body because the result is fruitful labor for him.
Look at the words he uses in our verse today
eager expectation hope no shame full courage now as always
Christ honored
Where? In his body!
His mind and heart were fully convinced of the truth of the gospel and then his body had to become a servant to that truth. He had to discipline his body to obey his calling.
What did Paul subject his body to his in his pursuit of the lost? 2 Corinthians 11:23-39 gives a detailed list:
great labors
imprisonments
countless beatings to the point of death
40 lashes less 1, 5 times
beaten with rods, 3 times
stoned
shipwrecked, 3 times
adrift at sea, a night and day
always on the road
dangerous rivers
dangerous Jews
dangerous gentiles
danger in the cities
danger in the wilderness
danger at sea
danger from false brothers
toil
hardship
sleepless nights
hunger
thirst
often without food
in the cold and exposure
Human nature looks at that list and scoffs…oh Paul you’re a slow learner!! You should have stopped the first time you took a beating. When will you learn to take better care of yourself? You deserve a warm house and good food, a great chair and slippers on your feet. You deserve some self-love. You are foolish for getting up every single day and charging out there again to share the gospel. When will you ever change?
The spiritual nature looks at the list and says, well done good and faithful servant. You disciplined your mind to overcome the objections of your body to the glory and praise of the Father. You kept going, you didn’t give up. Personal comfort wasn’t weighed against a lost soul, the lost were the only thing that mattered.
what do our sufferings look like?
maybe we missed our favorite TV show
or dinner got cold
we might have had to spend $20 on gas driving someone to an appointment
donated our outdated pantry items to the church food hamper program
probably got dirty pulling someone out of the ditch
It’s not reasonable to compare ourselves to Paul but it’s very easy to see how we’ve become a slave to our conveniences and pleasures rather than to the great commission of reaching the lost with the good news. Paul didn’t hunker down at home, he went wherever the Holy Spirit led him.
What is fruitful labor?
Fruitful labor is using our bodies in service to Christ so that we can spread the message of salvation and hope that only Jesus Christ can give. Study the word, let the message of grace seep into every pore. Remember what you were saved from, what you were brought out of and then start actively looking for people to share your story with. You’ll find them I promise!