the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 5 of 5
Philippians 2:12-30
Himself the Example of obedience, the Lord has the right to require our obedience in everything "without murmurings and disputings" (v. 14). The apostle’s absence in no way exempted the Philippians from this (v. 12). On the contrary, he not being there to care for them, they had to watch over themselves in order not to fail in their Christian life. Similarly when a young Christian leaves his parents’ house, he does not thereby cease to be under submission to the Lord, but becomes himself responsible for his behaviour. The word translated work has the literal meaning of cultivate, and so implies the patient pursuit of such activities as the pulling up of poisonous weeds (impure thoughts, dishonest practices, lies, etc. . .). Although no one can do this for us, this work can not be accomplished in our own strength (v. 13). Even the will, the desire is promoted in us by the Lord. But see then what beautiful witness results from it (vv. 14-16).
Let us in this chapter consider the examples of devotion beginning with the most sublime of all, that of Christ, then of Paul associated with the Philippians (vv. 16, 17), then of Timothy (v. 22) and finally of Epaphroditus (vv. 25, 26, 30), By contrast, what a sad note in v. 21. Whom do we want to be like, dear readers?
