philippians

The life of the Christian is like a polygon—it has many sides. Like a polygon, which depends on all of its sides, a balanced Christian life depends on all aspects of Christian life—the whole counsel of God. There is the fight of the Christian life (Ephesians 6:10–20), the learning (2 Timothy 2:15; John 5:39; Acts 17:11), and the devotion (John 15:4). All of these and more besides are good, but we must not focus on any one of them. If I major on the fight, I become a hardened antagonist. If I major on the learning, I become a puffed up bookworm. And if I major on devotion, I could either become a mystic or an Athenian pagan—raising an altar to an unknown God.

Many para-church ministries are single-issue ministries; they focus on one aspect, one part of Christian theology or practice. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but very often those who follow these ministries go beyond the intended purpose. They take on an imbalance that is an unbiblical approach. Very often that particular focus becomes a hobbyhorse and they begin to live for a particular part of Christ’s interests in the world rather than living for Christ Himself.

Paul said that Christ was his life. By saying this Paul was specific enough to identify true piety and broad enough to leave us wondering the depth of meaning in that statement, “For me to live is Christ.” Whatever it means, we can say this: “For me to live is Christ” means that He is at the centre and every side reflects him. In other words Christ is reflected in every side of my life.

Reading: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”—Philippians 1:21