For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. -Phillipians 1:6
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. -Philippians 1:9-11
It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes even when you have read a passage a thousand time before, it can look brand new when you read it again. This comes from the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Phillipians, written during his first imprisonment (dated at approx A.D. 61). What always strikes me is Paul’s voice of strength, hope and encouragement, even in prison. His hope in the Phillipians strikes me especially today – that he is so confident in us as the beginnings of God’s good work, and that, perhaps more importantly, we are constantly being perfected until the day of Christ Jesus. Perhaps this is in contrast to the preacher in the Poisonwood Bible (which I’m reading now), but really I think it’s just a reflection of good life philosophy: we should always be striving to better ourselves. I like the second selection also – to me it says that to better oneself is to allow love to abound, not blindly, but in knowledge and discernment. Makes one think, neh?
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