Fellow Pilgrim,
January
16, 2017
Are you
a happy person? If you really want to know ask your spouse or a close friend, ‘Do
you think I’m a happy person?’ Don’t ask
it like this: ‘You do think I’m a happy person don’t you?’ This is an unfair way to ask it! Here’s
a self-test to help you determine whether you’re a happy person or not:
1.
Do I frequently blame others when I’m unhappy?
(be honest!)
2.
Do I have difficulty forgiving someone who has
wronged me?
3.
Do I even like my spouse (or family)? (this
one requires a little attitude)
4.
Do I criticize others when they don’t
live up to my expectations?
5.
Have I spent time in conversation with God or
listened to His Word this week – one on one?
6.
Am I happy just to pursue my own passions and
desires?
In
the first half of Philippians 3 Paul clarifies what a mature believer is. He or she is someone who finds knowing Christ
more exciting than anything else. This
person delves into the power of the resurrection (redemption), and the
fellowship of His sufferings (letting go of small ambitions), in order to gain
the hope of eternal life. A mature believer is the only one who can begin
a journey to true happiness. This is a simple lesson few people ever learn.
We grasp for happiness and it slips through our fingers. People let us down.
Things don’t go our way. One more crisis to mop up. A mature believer isn’t perfect. He makes
mistakes. He has to say ‘I’m sorry’ sometimes. But he always hungers for more
of God. He presses on like an athlete intent on winning. (Philippians
3:8,12) Here are four marks of a mature person:
1.
Do you
keep on with what you’ve already learned – even if it
doesn’t seem to be helping? This is called ‘perseverance’. (v16)
2.
Do you
forget what lies behind? (v13) You don’t replay your victories. You don’t
replay your defeats. This will either give you a big head or make you feel like
a failure. I don’t have to try very hard
to remember certain bad memories. It takes discipline to say to yourself – I am
not going there. But I can do it! Nothing squashes
joy
like living in the past with her glories and regrets.
3.
Do you
live fully in the present? The late Dr. Clyde Kilby, a
teacher of English literature at Wheaton College, resolved: “I shall not allow the devilish
onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, ‘fulfill the
moment as the moment’. I shall try to live well just now because the only time
that exists is now.” John Piper remembers him as one who had an ‘extraordinarily awake,
God-oriented palate for wonder in poetry and nature.’ Is
today something to get through or something to wring every ounce of life out
of?
4.
Do you
look to the future with optimism? Paul says that the mature person of faith is ‘reaching for what lies ahead’. It pictures a runner straining for the finish
line. Tomorrow is not a threat to my
tidy little world but an opportunity to adventure further into the wonderful mystery
of God and faith!
Funny thing is…this
is the recipe for joy. It is a mixture of faith, struggle, purpose and
trust that we live in a God-drenched world, if we would only reach out and
discover him.
