Upward First, Then Outward

This morning I felt I should read from Paul's letters to the Philippians 2:1-5 NIV:

[1] "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

[5] "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:"

I guess I am seeing everything in the relational context these days, but these verses are very clearly discussing our relationships with the Lord and wth each other. The idea that the Lord spends so much time discussing relationships, their importance and their foundational aspect in the scriptures is surprising to me. It seems like this is one of the core messages, yet one that gets lost in many of our experiences of the church. The Lord is clearly after something in my life, and I am interested in the same, deepening relationship wth Him and others.

Looking at the verses above, the initial focus is direct - unity with Christ Jesus. There is no clearer description of intimate relationship than unity. Unity by very definition requires one mindedness, one expression of love, compassion, and spirit. Another translation simply says have the same mind, same love, and same compassion. If we are in Christ, united with Him, found in Him, joined with Him, than His heart and mind need to become ours. A good example of this is how couples who have been married for many years start thinking alike, often able to communicate with just a look, because they both know what the other is thinking. We are called to a similar experience in Christ. This is the listed first, and in our pursuit of God, must always remain first, for it is out of this unity that the second focus is derived.

Secondly, the focus is on unity with one another. It is clear that this is the main subject for Paul, yet he takes time to lay the foundation of relationship with Christ. As I said before, it is out of this foundational relationship that others develop and grow. Our focus in relationship should be upwards (towards the Lord) than outward (toward one another). The danger in not taking this approach is selfishness, or self focus. Our frame of perspective for our life, our outward relationships needs to be viewed from the Lords perspective, and this is what Paul is discussing and calling the Philippians to experience. It is when we have Christ's mind, that we can think correctly about the significance of each other as well as our role and our purpose in the Body. So as Paul says, in our relationships with each other we should have Christ's mindset, His perspective. Upward first, then outward.