Philippians 2:15 - Shine. Really shine.

"...in order that you should come to be blameless and flawless, children of God unblemished in the middle of a generation crooked and perverted, in whom you are shining as stars in the kosmos..."

-remember that paul is focused in the twin goals of furthering the Gospel and exalting Christ.  and they feed each other.  furthering the Gospel is ultimately intended to bring glory to Christ, and exalting Christ is central to the forward progress of the Gospel.

-towards that end, paul is picturing believers whose lives are completely devoid of any spot or flaw or anything that would mar the appearance or otherwise diminish the brilliance of their lives.  and in this context, the way to get to this place of being blameless and flawless and unblemished is to eliminate the grumbling and disputing.  the destination and the path here are directly tied together by the purpose clause, hina, which is the first word in this verse.  it always refers to purpose, result, outcome.  thus the purpose of avoiding the grumbling and disputing mentioned in the previous verse is so that my life will be clean and pure enough to brilliantly illuminate a dark world which has lost its way.  in other words, we are totally still talking about the forward progress of the Good News, of the cause of Christ.  and at the same time we are talking about a life that simultaneously makes Him look really good. 

-now someone might object that the bar here is too high, that it is impossible humanly-speaking for any Christ-follower to arrive at a place where they could be described as perfectly flawless all the time.  and on one level, they would be correct.  but there are two responses to this.  first, the NT writers and God Himself are never averse to setting our bar exactly as high as paul sets it here.  even though God’s people are living under grace, He expects them to be perfect, and to do the impossible (mt 5.48, mt 19.26, mk 9.23, jn 14.13, 2cor 7.1, jam 1.4, 1pet 1.14-16).  and second, what perfection looks like in the lives of God’s people is that we aim (with the power that God supplies - cf 2cor 12.9) to be perfect, and when we do fall short we own it, we make it right, and we move on from there.

-but our standard is not the world around us.  that world falls way short - it is lost and living in darkness.  the default posture of the generation of our peers is rebellion in a life lived apart from its Creator, and as a result that generation is mired in a morass of me-first empty-hearted dissatisfaction.  it is always seeking, never finding true abiding joy and peace.  theirs is the cotton-candy syndrome - the world appears to offer something of great satisfaction, but it does not last.  in the end it melts away to nothing and they are left feeling empty.  the invariable outcome of unmet needs and desires is anger and more me-first self-seeking, along with grumbling and complaining.  (have you ever met an older person who has lived their life apart from God?  this is exactly what you tend to encounter, someone who is selfish and bitter and dissatisfied.)  when things don’t go the way someone wants them to, when people don’t live or lead or do things the way someone wants them to, the natural instinct born out of self-centeredness is to communicate that dissatisfaction, either directly or indirectly.  sometimes they will angrily communicate directly to the source of the dissatisfaction (complaining/disputing), while other times the communication will be more indirect, usually to others who possibly share similar feelings of dissatisfaction (grumbling).  both tacks are born in and fed by a heart of me-first.  this does not mean that a Christ-follower is not allowed to or will never be dissatisfied or disappointed.  on the contrary, life will not always go the way we plan or desire.  people will never behave or lead the way we want them to or think they should.  it is our response that gives us the chance to shine, or not.  there is a sinful worldly way to respond, and there is a godly way, one which makes Jesus look good and can further the progress of the Good News.  Christ-follower, however you respond, please make sure you do so in a way that shows off the breathtaking goodness of God.

-when things aren’t going the way i want them to or think they should, i can either respectfully approach someone who could potentially do something about it (either the God of my circumstances or else a person who is a steward of those)(maybe give my anger the chance to subside first), OR i choose to enter in with a humble and respectful heart knowing full well that God is in control, that He is not at all surprised by the way things are and in fact is probably behind and in them all the way.  He has my back, and He will work (IS working) all things for good (rom 8.28).  if things do not change according to my liking, i can seek the Lord about possibly getting out from under the circumstances, or i can stay in there with respect for God’s sovereignly appointed circumstances and/or leaders and with a heart of trust and gratitude.  in everything give thanks, because this is what God wants (1th 5.18).  and remember there are no greener pastures this side of heaven.  the leader or organization or company or church or marriage that aren’t the way i want them to be will never be the way i want them to be.  there are no perfect people or leaders or relationships or human organizations.  my attempt to extricate myself and find something or someone more suitable will most likely eventually result in continued dissatisfaction, because God is often using my circumstances not to fix what’s wrong with the world but rather to fix my selfish heart. 

-the way to really shine in the midst of dissatisfying circumstances is to do what Jesus did - to let go and go low and pursue the path of others-first others-better, to serve and love in His Name and for His sake. find ways to serve and love in the midst of your dissatisfaction, to serve and love others who maybe you think don’t deserve it. how did Jesus put it? turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give them the shirt off your back? everybody knows the words, we just don’t seem to DO the words very well. and that’s really the most important part, the doing. anybody can know the words.  (and of course, the doing is impossible apart from God's power - great freedom can be found in letting go and admitting that i can't do this!)

-this is not to say that there are never circumstances or situations or relationships which a Christ-follower cannot try to improve or perhaps try to leave.  certainly there are situations of abuse or danger or which would otherwise require one to be involved in something which God would not want - these are times when there may be no other recourse but to leave, at least temporarily.  but if i am following Christ, the question is and must always be, what does GOD want, not what do i want.  i need to make sure that i am not just pining for greener pastures that generally don’t exist this side of heaven, or that i am not making it about me or the other person.  and i need to make darn sure that i am not communicating my dissatisfaction disrespectfully or to someone who cannot do something about it.  that is how the world rolls, and those who follow Christ are to be better than that.  the bar is definitely high, and we are indeed to be perfect, flawless - illuminaries, shining examples of how to do things differently, bold and bright pictures of Jesus to a generation that is lost and living in darkness.