“What do you want to be when you grow up?” frequently gets asked of children and teens. As a preschooler, my friend (and fellow PK) admired the way that the garbage men hung onto the back of the truck and jumped down to pick up the trashcans. You can imagine the shock her dad felt on his way to the church one day when he looked in his rearview mirror and saw her perched on the back bumper of the station wagon, hanging onto the luggage rack! My little brother also enjoyed watching the garbage truck come by and dreamed of being a garbageman. While my friend’s initial dream didn’t quite come true—she is now a district attorney—you could make the case for my brother ending up following the path he dreamed of as a young boy. Today he is a manager for a hazmat company.
“What do you want to be” or, perhaps better worded, “What should you be” or “What will you be” is a theme in Philippians as Paul encourages the believers to look ahead to their future.
Philippians 1:6 reminds believers that God “began a good work” in us and that we can be sure that He “will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” A few verses later, Paul shares his desire for believers to “be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (1:10), “filled with the fruit of righteousness,” not for our own glory, but for God’s glory (1:11).
In Philippians 1:27, Paul challenges believers to “let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” “Let your manner of life” was a political term that referred to how one should live as a citizen of a particular city or country and how one should govern himself. As residents of a Roman colony, the people of Philippi enjoyed the same privileges and rights that Roman citizens did. The Philippian believers would have quickly drawn the parallel between living as Roman citizens while in a colony and living as heavenly citizens while on earth. As heavenly citizens and representatives of Christ, our lives should be worthy—of the same value, or equal—lives that show the worth of the Gospel and reflect it.
The next verse encourages believers to have courage no matter what circumstances they face. Despite the hardships and persecution Paul was experiencing, he reassures the Philippians that all of what had happened actually “served to advance the gospel” (1:12). Verse 14 of chapter 1 contains what at first seems to be a contradiction: Paul’s imprisonment caused Christians to be far bolder to speak the Gospel without fear. The threat of a prison sentence, or worse—execution—would normally cause one to avoid actions that would result in that. Yet seeing that God helped Paul and even brought about good through his imprisonment assured other believers that God would be with them and help them as well.
The end of Philippians 1:27 states Paul’s desire that the Philippian believers would be “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.” Being with other believers makes our journey so much easier, whether we’re supporting someone in difficult straits, being supported ourselves because we’re the one in a hard place, or just walking together as we both learn and grow.
Paul speaks again of citizenship at the end of chapter 3 as he reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (vv. 20-21). These verses remind me of the chorus of a song written by Phil McHugh.
One day Jesus will call my name,
As days go by, hope I don’t stay the same.
I wanna get so close to Him
That’s it no big change
On that day when Jesus calls my name.1
Paul wrote the book of Philippians from prison, yet his contentment with God’s working and plan oozes through his writing. He lists numerous “qualifications” in chapter 3, but he says they are rubbish and that he wants instead to have “the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (vv. 8-9). Paul’s goal is simply to know Christ “and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (v. 10).
“Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him”—a hymn that, interestingly enough, was written by an Irish preacher but set to an old German tune—sums up this theme of Philippians perfectly. The hymn has simple words and a simple tune, yet great depth.
Praise the Savior, ye who know Him,
Who can tell how much we owe Him?
Gladly let us render to Him
All we are and have.
Trust in Him, ye saints forever,
He is faithful, changing never,
Neither force nor guile can sever
Those He loves from Him.
Keep us, Lord, oh, keep us cleaving,
To Thyself, and still believing,
Till the hour of our receiving
Promised joys with Thee.
Then we shall be where we would be,
Then we shall be what we should be.
Things that are not now, nor could be,
Soon shall be our own.2
One day we will enter Heaven, and all the promised joys will become our current reality. Then, our sanctification complete, the struggle to be what we should and do what we should will be over. We have glimpses now of what we will be, but then we will know it fully.
Taking it further:
What encourages you to keep a heavenly focus during difficult times?
How do you help others keep a heavenly focus during easy and during difficult times?
Sources
1 Phil McHugh, “One Day,” 1980.
2 Thomas Kelley, “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him,” 1806.