I began reading through Philippians this morning. Why? Paul\"s letter to the Philippians is known as The letter of joy. In the midst of the storms of life, a reminder of joy sounds good to me.
I didn\"t get far into my reading when something leapt out; and frankly, it wasn\"t what I was looking for.
Paul opens the letter with a fairly normal greeting. In his hello, two words jumped out immediately:
SERVANTS & SAINTS
Paul was an uber-apostle. His writings and influence helped shape the early church and the (our) faith throughout the centuries. His life was a picture of the miraculous and gut-it-out faithfulness. His ears heard the audible voice of Jesus and the grating chorus of detractors. Paul lived for his (our) faith. Paul died for his (our) faith. Paul was a saint. (I know this because his first name is Saint, as in Saint Paul.)
It\"s interesting to me that Paul didn\"t begin his letter: "Paul and Timothy, saints of Christ Jesus, to all the servants..." Nope, the opposite. Paul calls himself (and Timothy) servants, and the everyday people, the holding-on-by-a-fingernail believers, he addresses as saints.
And that\"s it for this post. You and I are saints. You and I are servants. I propose that the more Saintly we become, the more Servantly we are. Or maybe, the more Servantly we are (in action), the more Saintly we become. Or... maybe it\"s both. Yea, I think that\"s it.
You and I are SAINTS...
Believe and hold on to it. It\"s something Christ did for us.
You and I are SERVANTS:
Live it and do it. It\"s something Christ does through us.
God, the only way for me to understand I am a saint is to live as a servant. And the power to truly serve comes from understanding you have made me a saint.
For now...
D
