Striving Side By Side – Philippians 1

A text – Philippians 1:21-30

1:21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.
1:22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer.
1:23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better;
1:24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.
1:25 Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith,
1:26 so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
1:27 Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel,
1:28 and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing.
1:29 For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well–
1:30 since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

A reflection:

Paul is writing to the congregation in the Macedonian / Greek town of Philippi. It is full of retired Roman soldiers, settled there after the enormous battle that followed the assassination of Julius Caesar. It is full of lots of Macedonian families from Alexander the Great’s days (the town is named for his father), but more recently lots of ex-military. Paul is well aware of this, and some of the imagery in this letter is meant to appeal to these believers who used to be soldiers.

Look at verse 27-28: “…I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the Gospel and in no way intimidated by your opponents.” You can almost picture lines of soldiers, arms linked behind their shields, holding the line as one, striving side by side. But not for Rome. For the faith of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. If you’ve ever been in a significant disagreement in a church, you know it does not feel very side-by-side. It can feel much more us-vs.-them. But Paul re-casts the struggle so that these believers can see themselves as living and working in a community together, called by Christ to be together, on the same side.

This chapter is partly about struggling with challenges, being assailed by opponents. And Paul confesses that sometimes he longs to die so that he can go to be with Christ. But he knows he has been called and sent by Christ to these people, so to remain alive is better so that he can serve them and teach them and help them to grow in their faith.

God knows that living a life of faith does not save us from struggle. In fact it often puts us right in the midst of struggle. That’s why God wants us to be in community, so that we can help one another side by side, strengthening each other in the faith of the Gospel. We need one another. We may not like it that way. But we do need one another.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us the community of generous teachers and cooperative learners. Help us to remember that you place us together for a reason, and that we are to strive side by side as our faith in you grows stronger.  Amen.