This Sunday has traditionally been a puzzling Sunday for many Christians. In particular, it’s been puzzling for many pastors, such as myself, for years. “Why is it puzzling,” you may ask. Well, it’s puzzling quite simply because of what precedes it. You see, today is known as Octave of Easter, or more commonly, Low Sunday. Now it has originally to do with the fact that the timeframe between last Sunday (Easter) and this Sunday is when Jesus made himself known to his disciples. In recent years the title of Low Sunday has come to describe church attendance on the Sunday following Easter. You see, Easter is the most highly attended worship day of the year. Why, I bet that you can name at least a handful of people who you know attended church somewhere last week and they won’t this week and probably won’t again until Christmas or even Easter next year. You see it’s puzzling to me, because if all Christians truly understand the magnitude of what we celebrated last Sunday, then we would not so quickly forget what Jesus accomplished for us and we would anticipate very anxiously the chance to return together with God’s people and worship him. We would do all that we could to humble ourselves before him once again. We most certainly would not reduce our faith to a once or twice a year event. We wouldn’t trivialize our faith by making it some type of holiday that is literally here one day and gone the next.
You see, we Christians have many things that distinguish us from the religions of the world. Perhaps the most significant of these is the very thing that we celebrated last Sunday. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, not only died for our sins, but he arose from the dead and still lives today. Now, I can’t take you to his physical body, but I can tell you where it is. He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. And it is because of this fact that our Savior lives that we can have a relationship with him. You see, we have a loving and relational God; a God that wants to have a relationship with him. And the Apostle Paul goes on here in our text today to describe 4 different aspects of our having a relationship with God.
The first aspect is “Knowing God”. Paul begins v.10 by saying, “that I may know God and the power of his resurrection.” Now at first, this may be a puzzling statement. I mean, after all, Paul is the one who is responsible for a large portion of the New Testament. So much of what we know about the effects of the resurrection are given to us by Paul himself. But Paul isn’t saying that he wants to know about Christ. No, Paul knows about Christ about as well as anyone ever has. Paul is saying that he wants to know Christ. He wants to experience Christ. He wants to feel the power of God moving through him and working in his heart. He even wants to know what it’s like to suffer for God’s sake. He wants to know God.
We’ve all had those moments; those glimpses in time where God has worked in mighty ways in your life. Maybe it was through a series of events that worked so subtly that you didn’t even know it was happening. Maybe it was during something so abrupt and profound that you knew exactly in that moment that it was God’s work. I know for me that any time I have gone through a period of suffering, after that period has passed, I look back on the circumstances that delivered me through it and have had no other explanation than that it was the work of the Lord. Paul is telling us that it is a great benefit for us to know God and to feel his presence in our lives. We (and Paul for that matter too) are to never stop striving for knowing God more closely and more intimately.
Another benefit of our relationship with God is that we follow him. But Paul doesn’t want us to get the wrong idea here. After telling us that Paul wants to know Christ so completely that he is exactly like him, Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.” You see, Paul knows that he isn’t anywhere close to Christ. He also knows that there is a good chance that he never will be, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. You see, Christian discipleship shouldn’t be seen as something that everyone is expected to honor but no one is expected to attain. Although the reality of us, in this life, being completely like Christ seems distant, it isn’t as if we should stop trying. We know, just as Paul did at this time, that we are not perfect. We know that we are nowhere near where God would have us, but that doesn’t mean that we should give up. We are to continue to follow Christ and follow the example that he has set before us. There are no such things as impossible goals in the Christian faith. Improbable, sure, but impossible, never.
Another aspect of our relationship with God that Paul is dealing with here is something that we struggle with greatly and that is the issue of suffering for God. Sure, we all go through periods of suffering in our lives. Some of our suffering, however, isn’t for God. We suffer at losing a loved one. We suffer when we struggle to provide for our family. We suffer when things just seem to be harder for us than they are for others. I get that. I understand those things. I have suffered many times through seasons just like those. But suffering for God is so much more. Suffering for God is giving up things and taking the narrow way because it is the way that brings the most glory to God. Suffering for God is our making the difficult choices in life because we know that it is what God has commanded of us. Suffering for God is rejoicing over what God has done even as tears stream down our face. Suffering for God is forgetting the past and focusing on the future. We don’t sit and stew over the things that have happened in our lives. We don’t hold grudges and stay angry at those who have done us wrong. We strive forward. We understand that none of us can go back and change what has already happened. We endure sufferings. We endure hardships. We endure things in our life that seem difficult at the time. And we do all of these things while giving glory to God.
My father, who many of you have had the chance to meet, is famous for saying in any bad situation, “Well, could be a lot worse.” Thanks Dad. Thanks for that brilliant revelation. But he’s right. Many times things could be much worse than they really are. Instead of counting all of the blessings and the fact that God will deliver me through whatever hardship I may be going through, I tend to focus on the one aspect of my life that isn’t going so well. Are you like this? Are you the type of person who focuses so much on the negative things about your life that you gloss right over the positive even though the positive far outweighs the negative? Part of our suffering for the sake of Christ is our being able to still rejoice and give thanks to God even when things aren’t going how we would like for them to.
All of these three aspects of a relationship with Christ are great blessings. And then we find these words here in the final several verses of our text, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” What do we make of all of this as it pertains to our relationship with Christ? Well, these words have to do with our walking with Christ. Have you ever noticed that the way a person walks many times tells you a lot about that person? It’s true. People that walk constantly looking down are said to be more self-conscious and more introverted. Those who walk with their heads held high are usually very confident and happy with who they are. Those who walk all over the place and sometimes skip around are typically the type of people we call “flighty” or aloof.
Well, the same could be said about our walking in the faith. The way that we “walk”, the way that we live; tells those around us a lot about us and particularly about our faith. It’s pretty easy for people to tell whether or not someone has the love of Christ as a part of their life. It has always been my opinion that Christians just seem to handle things differently than non-Christians. I’m not saying that Christians handle things better than non-Christians, but there is a distinct difference there. And it is my belief that the reason for Christians having this trait is because we know that there is something bigger. We know that there is a purpose. We know that the will of our Lord will be done. Why, I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to be a non-Christian. When I experience trials, suffering, loss, or any other painful situation, one of the main things that sustains me through that time is the fact that I know that there is a great purpose at work. For those who don’t know Christ, that isn’t the case. There isn’t a higher purpose for them. Can you imagine how depressing it would be if this was it? Can you imagine how bad it would be if this life here on earth was all there was; if death was the end and after that it was all over?
But you see, the glorious news is that it isn’t, and we know that for certain. We know that because of what we celebrated last Sunday. We know that because of what we celebrate today. We celebrate Jesus’ paying the price for our sins in just a moment when we receive the Lord’s Supper. The Godman came to this earth and paid the price that was owed for our sins. He came and conquered death. Because of his paying our debt, we now have access to the Father. We now can have eternal life with Him in heaven. And all this is made possible because of what Christ has done on our behalf. So as we prepare our hearts to partake in Communion, let us remember what Christ has done on our behalf. As we go throughout our lives, I want all of us to work at acting and conducting ourselves in a way that tells those around us without a doubt that we cling to the name of Christ. Remember, your life is the greatest witness that you have to proclaim Christ and Christ crucified. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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