WEEK 2 ● Day 4
READ PHILIPPIANS 1:22-24
Do you ever feel like you have too many decisions to make in a day? I sure do. Some of them are little decisions, like what to make for breakfast or whether to wear heels or flats. Other decisions are bigger and more difficult, like finding a more intensive therapist for a couple of our kids.
If you include my husband and me, I’m in charge of eight people (he totally counts himself as my seventh kid), and all the decision-making for this many people can be intimidating and exhausting. No matter if you’re making decisions for a whole family or carrying your world on your own shoulders, it’s probably the same for you: Life can sometimes be daunting with so many choices.
One of our kids often writes up a pros-and-cons list when he’s about to step forward (or not) into something big. Today’s passage in Philippians feels a bit like that as Paul goes back and forth between two pretty big possibilities: stay alive, or be with his Lord in heaven.
I visualize these verses a bit like a play or movie—Paul walking back and forth (dragging an exhausted guard by his side), wearing a rut in the ground beneath his feet, talking out loud about death versus life. But because Paul is an optimist, this is no pros-and-cons list—he goes right for the pros.
1. Read through this passage and write out Paul’s pros-and-pros list:
PRO (LIVE) |
PRO (DIE) |
|---|---|
The Pro (Die) section isn’t all that long, is it? It’s hard to top the pro of being with Christ. Paul is exhausted. He’s likely tired of living without his freedom. He’s been chased by angry mobs, he’s been left for dead after being stoned, he’s been lost at sea. What could be better than going to heaven, where there is no more pain, fear, and exhaustion?
When Farmor (my Swedish grandmother) was on her deathbed, my family and I spent a lot of time at her bedside. Each day, we watched her draw closer to her new home, and she started telling us what she was seeing. Her eyes darted around the room as she saw things we definitely could not. With a slight smile, she told us that she could see a group of people gathering at the Gate, preparing a party for her, welcoming her home.
At one point, I was alone with my sweet grandmother and cuddled next her, recounting our many years of fun memories together. Suddenly she stopped me, with more gumption than I’d seen in days: “Chains! I hear chains! There aren’t supposed to be chains in heaven!” As I lifted my arm to brush hair out of her eyes, she again uttered an upset, “Chains!”—and I realized that my wrist-full of bracelets sounded very much like the chains that were agitating her. Once I showed her how my bracelets clinked against one another, she relaxed again. “I knew there were no chains,” she whispered quietly.
Paul knew there were no chains in heaven. And after two years of sores and callouses from the thick and heavy metal, he likely found the idea of no chains immensely appealing. But . . . this is where the Pro (Live) column comes in: Paul sees how much he’s still needed. And somehow, the idea of laboring for the good of the church gives him the desire to keep living, to not give up or give in.
Paul says in verse 22, “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.”
2. What do you think Paul meant by “fruitful labor”?
“Better to lose your life than to waste it.”[1] In John Piper’s book Why I Love the Apostle Paul: 30 Reasons, I have this quote underlined with a heart and arrow in the margin. I don’t want to waste my life. If I waste my one and only life, what was the point of me? If I live an ordinary life full of comfort and am not willing to run after what God has called me to, why keep me here?
3. Head on over to thesaurus.com and type in the word fruitful. Write down the words that jump out at you:
4. Do these words describe you and your life? Why or why not?
When I looked up the word fruitful (karpos; καρπóς, pronounced kar-pos) in the Interlinear section of the BLB, I scrolled down to see where else in the Bible that word has been used. One place it’s used (over and over) is Matthew 7.
5. Circle all the times fruit is used in these verses:
16 But you will recognize them by their fruits. You don’t find sweet, delicious grapes growing on thorny bushes, do you? You don’t find delectable figs growing in the midst of prickly thistles. 17 People and their lives are like trees. Good trees bear beautiful, tasty fruit, but bad trees bear ugly, bitter fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear ugly, bitter fruit; nor can a bad tree bear fruit that is beautiful and tasty. 19 And what happens to the rotten trees? They are cut down. They are used for firewood. 20 When a prophet comes to you and preaches this or that, look for his fruits: sweet or sour? rotten or ripe?
6. Although this passage refers to false prophets (teachers or leaders who are deceiving those they influence), we can consider how the principles apply to any of us. How do these verses say we will recognize authentic believers?
7. Write verse 17 in your own words:
8. We know Paul is a trustworthy leader. He’s truly the real deal, right? In what ways could his life continue to bear fruit, even as he was in prison?
Paul says in Philippians 1:24 that “to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” In other words, Paul recognizes that continuing in a life full of ups and downs, weakness and struggle would benefit the Philippian church and the entire body of believers far more than his death ever could. Being a voice for God’s Good News, taking it to the ends of the earth, speaking truth to the powers of the day, encouraging the people of God to live out their faith—all of those things were worth living for. Deep down, Paul knows that his life on earth needs to continue, that he must persist in fruitfulness so others may grow in the love of Christ and that Christ may be glorified through all he does. No giving up now.
Our sweet youngest daughter Elsabet learned the word fruitful in preschool and has been using it slightly incorrectly ever since. She’s always saying stuff like, “Mommy, today was fruitful” or “I’m feeling fruitful,” meaning she had a good day at school, is feeling joyful, or made some right decisions. But even though that’s not how we might typically use the word fruitful, doesn’t Elsabet’s understanding reflect what Paul is talking about here? May our labor be full of goodness, joy, and right decisions as we love God and love others well.
Talk to God about where you’re anchoring your roots and spreading your limbs, readying yourself to bloom and produce fruit—and ask Him to reveal what might be hindering your fruitfulness.
Amen.