Paul’s Hope

“My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Philippians 1:20 CSB

I am not sure how you go into a new year; maybe you are a person who does new year resolutions, or maybe you don’t do anything different. You are happy to continue with the same old same old.
For me, a new year is an opportunity to take stock of where I am as an individual, to review our family budget and what we are trying to accomplish as a family. It is because of that thought process that this verse grabbed my attention this past week. You see, usually I look at the upcoming year thinking about what I can do to be a little more healthy, a better husband, better father, better at my job and a better friend. As I read this verse what caught my attention was the simplicity of Paul’s hope. Paul says he expects and hopes that he will not bring shame to the person of Christ. WOW, what a hope. Do you see the magnitude of what he is saying? If I am able to live a life the doesn’t bring shame to the name of Christ, then every other aspect of my life will not only be what it should be, but it will be getting better. Paul makes this statement far-reaching, “Christ will be honored in my body.” My body is completely controlled by my thought process. So, if Christ is honored in my body then Christ has complete control of my head and my heart. If Christ has control of my head and my heart then the fruit of the Spirit will be produced in me and that fruit will change the way I interact with those I am living life with. My desire to not bring shame to the name of Christ produces growth in me and my relationships.
I think that my hope for this next year should be as simple as Paul’s statement that, “I will not be ashamed about anything”, and that, “Christ will be highly honored in my body.”
What is your hope for this next year?

-Pastor Tim