Confessions of a SmileyFreak :)

Bald eagles are pretty magnificent birds.  I’ve never seen one in person, but in photographs, they are just beautiful.

I was reading a little bit about them Online, and apparently, they are huge birds.  Some of their prey includes Canadian geese, which are not small birds themselves.

In the late winter and early spring, eagles start building nests for their young.  Though many of us have seen pictures of a huge eagle’s nest high in the branches of a tree or in the crag of a cliff, few of us have gotten a glimpse inside.

When a mother eagle builds her nest she starts with thorns, broken branches, sharp rocks, and a number of other items that seem entirely unsuitable for the project. But then she lines the nest with a thick padding of wool, feathers, and fur from animals she has killed, making it soft and comfortable for the eggs. By the time the growing birds reach flying age, the comfort of the nest and the luxury of free meals make them quite reluctant to leave.

That’s when the mother eagle begins ‘stirring up the nest. With her strong talons she begins pulling up the thick carpet of fur and feathers, bringing the sharp rocks and branches to the surface. As more of the bedding gets plucked up, the nest becomes more uncomfortable for the young eagles. Eventually, this and other urgings prompt the growing eagles to leave their once-comfortable abode and move on to more mature behavior.

I think that God does the same to us.  Just when we get comfortable with where we are at spiritually, He shakes things up…and it isn’t always a graceful or pain free experience when God wants you to grow.

Paul begins Philippians chapter 3 by warning the Believers in Philippi to beware of “the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision” and “to have no confidence in the flesh.”

There are some people in the world who like to place extra requirements for receiving God’s grace.  “You’re not really a Christian unless you do this thing that I say you need to do.”

Really?

Paul criticized people like this because they thought what they did saved them, instead of the gift of God’s grace.  What we do as Believers is a result of our faith in God, not a requirement to receive salvation, or some pre-requisite righteousness we have to have to be “good enough” for it.

In verses 4 thru 7, Paul addresses his heritage and his pedigree.  He talks about being born into a good Jewish family, a “Hebrew of Hebrews”, and following the Law of Moses to the letter as a Pharisee.  He talked about being zealous in his persecution of Believers in Christ.  His fellow Hebrews were probably pretty impressed by all of that.

But Paul’s point here wasn’t to brag about how awesome he was.

He goes on to talk about how all of that stuff that he did didn’t really mean anything…in fact, he uses some pretty strong language here, comparing all of those past deeds and accomplishments to what amounts to, in terms those of us today can understand, a bag full of week-old foul-smelling garbage.

We’ve all done good things, which we could boast about, but likewise we’ve all sinned and fallen short of what God’s expectations are for us.  Some of us hold onto that guilt and shame, thinking that we’ll never be good enough, and perhaps making us think we need to do all of these good things to make up for it.

Trying to live this sort of “perfect Christian life” can ultimately leave us drained and discouraged.  Let’s face it:  we’re humans, and we’re not perfect.  We’re going to mess up at some point.  But God uses our pain and disappointment in ourselves to help us grow.

Instead of striving for “perfect” (as we know it to be), may we aspire to grow up…become mature…to leave the nest…and focus less on what we do for Christ, but rather focus on who we are because of Christ.

Paul makes this point in verses 8 and 9: “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

Our achievements, no matter how grand they may be, don’t earn us eternal life.  We shouldn’t be depending upon our good deeds to please the Father.  Even the greatest deeds fall short of God’s Holy standards.

Because of our hope in Christ, we can let go of guilt, regret, and the need to do to feel secure in our salvation, and can look forward to what God will help us to become.  Instead of focusing on our past works, we should grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on our individual relationship with Him in the present.

By striving closer to Christ, and living our life in Him, by doing good things and being outwardly righteous because it’s what He would want us to do, not what would earn us our spot in heaven, we are, as Paul writes in verse 14: “[pressing] on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Moving toward a goal doesn’t necessarily come easy.  It takes hard work, focus, and often times sacrifice to reach it.

Paul gave up everything – family, friendship, and even his freedom – to know Christ.  How much have I given up to just simply know Christ?

Am I willing to give anything up?

Friends, knowing Christ, spending the time to grow and develop a deeper relationship with Him, is worth the sacrifices we may have to make in order to do so.

Paul is a great example to us.  His goal was to know Christ, to be like Him, and to be all that Christ had in mind for him to be.  This took all of Paul’s energy and focus.

Like Paul, we should not let anything distract us from our goal of knowing Jesus.  Nor should we let things distract us from those specific goals or callings he has for each of our lives individually, and the greater collective mission of making disciples so that this world can be transformed.

Moving toward this prize is not an easy process, but Christ is always present…moving and working in unimaginable, life-giving ways. Through striving toward Him, though it may be difficult for us, or painful, or uncomfortable, like those baby eagles experience when their mother exposes all the rocks and sticks in the nest – we grow – in our knowledge of Christ and in closeness to and maturity in Him.

Father God, help us to remember that we don’t have to keep a laundry list of rules and good deeds in order to be worthy of your grace.  Help us to know that all we need is simple, sincere faith in You, and You will touch us…change us…and make us into something better and more mature than we were before.  Amen.