Desire to be with Christ ...

Thursday, Nov 3, 2016. Sometimes we have fought hard to make something happen, but it did not work. There are times of frustration in life - and reading the letter of Paul to the Philippians, I realize that the apostle Paul had these times as well.

Paul in Trouble …

Paul was in prison, in chains. This is reflected in his words. They mirror the struggle he has, which is both physical and spiritual. His pain, but also his love. His frustration, but also his faith. Let us dive into a difficult situation, dive into the live of one of the key apostles of Jesus:

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. (from Philippians 1)

Paul writes about his desire to depart. He is frustrated, we can feel the pain and the suffering, we can feel that his own courage to go on, his own strength is gone. He would like to go, to leave this situation, to leave this life.

Between Suffering and Hope …

So many people have their own pain, their own suffering. If you look around today, you find those who are in areas of war. You find those who are in regions of starvation. You find those who are in rich towns, but suffer from depression and competition. You find so many people in the rich world which suffer from circumstances, which had traumatic experiences, which suffer from fellow humans.

Where, in all our difficulties, do we find a path to go? Of course, we need to work towards improvement on all these levels. We need to work for peace. We need to work towards provision of food and work and all what humans need. We need to word for community and relationships, which are shaped by love and truth and appreciation. But it will not work without Christ - and not everyone is on a path which will help to peace.

Somehow Paul is right with his feeling that only when he is with Christ, he can leave all these problems behind. The perspective we are given is far beyond the difficulties of our current world. But we are still here, and this is not without purpose! We are still here, and heaven starts where we are. Paul know this, he talks about the holy spirit and the prayers of the fellow Christians. Heaven starts here, in the middle of all the trouble! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts