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Today’s Treasure
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the
resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already
arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of
me.Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal
to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:10-14
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Moments Etched On My Heart
Pressing On With People Who Matter!
Barbara L’Italien, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his
sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the
resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already
arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of
me.Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal
to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:10-14
I remember hearing people say, “That is a gray area of Scripture.” So there is black and
white, those things that are very clear we are to obey, but then there is that gray area.
What? What did this mean? Who decides what is gray?
I won’t answer those questions for you, but I will share how God used this verse to help
me learn how to be honest with people who mattered, and how to press on when I was
stuck in my faith.
First, what do I mean by people who mattered? I used to think if you had a lot of
friends, you mattered. But the Bible teaches that “faithful are the wounds of a
friend”(Proverbs 27:6),
A brief commentary on this verse from Google:
This means we need faithful friends who will wound us, who will say hard things to us
because they love us because they care for us. But we don't need to be surrounded by people
who are always, to use language from Proverbs 27:6 kissing us, always telling us all the good
things about us.
So people who matter to me are the few faithful friends who will help me become more
of what Jesus wants, not the many people around me who say, “Hi, how are you today?”
and don’t stop for an answer. They are the people who may be friendly but not close
friends, one of many who may have a place in my life, but not be in the inner circle.
This also helps me determine how much I choose to share with others and protect
myself, especially with personal things. Some people genuinely care and will offer
counsel, practical ideas, confidentiality, and prayer, while others may only see this as
information to gossip about in their circle of many. It is sad, but these types of “friends”
are in the church too.
So how do I know who are the people who matter? I have learned when I am in a
not-so-good place in my faith - going through some growing pains, grief, struggling -
and a person says to me, “Hi, how are you today?” and I reply, “Pressing on,” and they
stop and go further with me. “What’s up?” “Can we pray together?” “Do you need a
hug?” You know, those endearing replies that say, “you matter.” Those are the people I
want in my life, the people “who matter.”
So what was the gray area for me? I felt as though I was lying to people when I could
not answer their “How are you today?” with truth. The verse from today’s Daily
Treasure taught me how to have a black-and-white answer, a truthful answer that
would matter to the right people in my life. It helped me to identify those whom I felt I
could trust with the broken parts of my life without judgement.
I believe God used my honesty to bring about seasons of friendship where we mattered
to each other, when those who heard my “pressing on” reply stopped because they
really heard what I said. Something was not right, and they were willing to step into
the moment with me and share their time, their heart, and their life lessons to help
me. Those few friends are still very dear to me. We may not speak for years, but when
we do cross paths, our hearts are quickly energized with grace and joy from the deep
relationship we hold as sisters in Jesus.
Philippians 3:10-14 are verses I will always treasure as a “moment etched on my heart.”
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
When I was a new Christian, I was a people watcher. Church life was new to me, and I
learned a lot by observation. Some of my lifelong friendships started in small group
Bible studies, meeting together weekly for periods of time, learning together, and
helping each other in practical ways. We prayed for each other and did life together. Do
you have people in your life who matter, and are you a person who matters to someone
else? We need both, and it is never too late to start (or re-start) to make this happen!