Glory to God! The Lord has been good to us throughout the past week and we are so grateful to God for everything He has done in our lives. Despite all that God does for us, the desires of our [human] hearts are really limitless and wild and it does keep on building up one after the other. At the same time, we all love to have good things happen to us, yet time and time again unpleasant things enter our paths and trouble us. As good and bad things happen in our life, almost all of us want things in our lives to happen in favor of us as none of us likes to face any unpleasant situations in our lives. Yet, numerous unpleasant things keep on coming on our ways and they just come as uninvited guests and make our life upside down and many-a-time miserable. It’s a world-wide phenomena that time-to-time things do not go the way many of us think or plan or expect or dream. I still remember one of the popular Malayalam movie songs that came out in 1980, which begins saying:

സ്വപ്നങ്ങൾക്കർത്ഥങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നെങ്കിൽ സ്വർഗ്ഗങ്ങളെല്ലാം നമുക്കു സ്വന്തം

(swapnangalkkarthangal undayirunnengil svarggangalellam namukku svantham)

മോഹങ്ങൾക്കെങ്ങാനും ചിറകുമുളച്ചെങ്കിൽ ലോകം മുഴുവൻ നമുക്കു സ്വന്തം …

(mohangalkkengaanum chirakumulachengil lokam muzhuvan namukku svantham)

The meaning of the lines above, according to Google Translate, are as follows:

If dreams had meaning, all of heaven would be ours;

If only our desires could grow wings, the whole world would be ours.

That would have been absolutely true in many of our lives that if our dreams had its meaning in the way we dreamt it, we would have made the heavens our own [or brought under our control]; and if our desires had wings, we would have made the entire world our own. In other words, if we have had the ability to control or change the things that happen in our life or in the world, we would have definitely done so and made everything in our favor. What we need to understand as faithful followers of Christ is that despite all that is going on in and around us, we need to trust God and pray to Him to guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus as He is aware of every situation we face in life. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people, as there is no particular pattern that bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people. It doesn’t matter what comes on our way, as a child of God [with Him being our creator, sustainer, redeemer, and savior], we need to face it bravely and live a life worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1).

Apostle Paul is trying to get our attention in this regard as there exists good things and bad things in this world. Being a committed minister of the gospel as an Apostle, Paul urged the followers of Christ across the world, particularly the believers in Philippi, not to focus on the bad things that are going on in the world, but rather, hold on to the good things that are in us, around us, and in the world. Paul urges the believers to deliberately opt for good things in life as a true follower of Christ and be a change-agent to make the world a better place for everyone to live cordially and purposefully. Such a life would be possible if believers everywhere held on to whatever is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and praiseworthy and put these things into practice (Philippians 4:8-9). Every faithful follower of Christ should be able to discern that the world’s way of life-style is different from God’s way of life-style (refer to: Leviticus 18:1-4; Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 12:12; 1 John 2:15-17). The world we live in might not be suitable for a faithful follower of Christ to live safely (refer to: Hebrews 11:38) as it is filled with deception and misleading and so on, but we are called to make a difference in the lives of the people who come across our life the way Christ made a lasting difference in the lives of the people who come across Him. Yet, we need to live an honorable life that is absolutely based on the Scriptural truth. As devoted followers of Christ, we cannot be mistaken or win in life by doing evil rather we need to overcome evil with good and win in life by doing good, as Apostle Paul mentioned while he was writing to the believers in Rome that Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Paul continued to urge the believers everywhere, saying: Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else (1 Thessalonians 5:15). Remember, when we read the Epistle to the Philippians (also, Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon), we do not even think that Paul was imprisoned in a Roman prison cell while he was writing the Epistle as he was always joyful, peaceful, and hopeful of his assurance in the Lord Jesus Christ, as he invited the believers in Philippi to rejoice in the Lord always because he experienced in life that the true joy comes from Jesus Christ alone: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near (Philippians 4:4-5). Apostle Peter also urged the believers not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9). In a nutshell, the followers of Christ are asked to hold on to whatever is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable and praiseworthy and with the best of our ability live our life according to the Word of God (Philippians 4:8-9).

In the light of our SftW meditation this week, let us encourage one another and pray together for each other and ask the Holy Spirit to help us change the way we think, talk, act, or dream and plead with Him to guide us to transform our heart and mind and soul and spirit to view persons and things the way Christ view them, so that we can have the attitude of Christ in us, as Apostle Paul stated: In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). The greatest promise mentioned here for all those who put it into practice all that mentioned in Philippians 4:8 in particular and all that we hear or read or study from the writings of Paul at large (Philippians 4:9a) is that the God of peace will be with us (Philippians 4:9b). If we haven’t started to live our life with a new mindset yet, which is of Christ’s, there is no other better time than right now. Let our attitude be like the attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and let us begin to view everyone and everything with a positive attitude – let us begin to view people and things the way Christ views them, let us begin to think the way Christ thinks, let us begin to act the way Christ acts. By doing the right thing at the right time, let us put off our old self and put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, as Paul stated: You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!