a holy discontentment

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11

Dear friends,

This morning, one of my pastors gave a message about holy discontentment from Philippians 3:10-11. This idea of a holy discontentment in our relationship with Jesus really resonated with me. It resonated with me because of how closely it parallels the theme of sojourning that I have been meditating on just recently.

Are we striving forward in our faith, eager to know Christ better and the power of His resurrection? Are we hungry for a deeper relationship with our saviour? Do we have a burning desire within our souls to become like Jesus in His death? And are we prepared to share in Christ's sufferings?

Those are challenging questions. For me, the thought of becoming satisfied with my relationship with Jesus should be a warning sign that something is wrong. It could be one of the first indications our faith is growing lukewarm (Rev 3:16). And being satisfied with our relationship with Jesus could also reflect another closely related danger of loving this world more than God (1 John 2:15).

If we are spiritual pilgrims sojourning in this world, then we will be more likely to feel that sensation of holy discontentment in our relationship with Jesus. This theme of holy discontentment is profound. Are we content to know we are saved or do we live to make our election sure? (1 Peter 1:10) Are we satisfied with our spiritual walk or are we pressing on towards the goal? (Phil 3:14) Are we content to attend church and call ourselves Christians or are we running the race, throwing off all sin that entangles us? (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Paul speaks in Philippians 3:10 of knowing Jesus and the power of His resurrection. The power of the resurrection! As Christians we all have access to and can live in the power of the resurrection (Rom 8:10-11). And we await our resurrection on the last day. If we as Christians will one day be given resurrection bodies and be transformed putting off the mortal for the immortal and the perishable for the imperishable (1 Cor 15:53), then shouldn't we seek to live not just in the light of, but in the actual power of the resurrection of Christ now?

Paul also speaks of sharing in Christ's sufferings in order to become like Jesus in His death (Phil 3:10). Do we have a holy discontentment to become more like Jesus, even if this means sharing in His suffering? If we are not sojourning in this world, then we are less likely to desire to become more like Jesus, especially in sharing in His sufferings. Is it little wonder Paul wanted to know the power of the resurrection as otherwise, even as an apostle, Paul probably would not have had the ability to share in Christ's sufferings.

The more I live the Christian life and meditate upon what it means to call oneself a Christian, act like a Christian and develop a truly biblical and Christian worldview, the more I am convicted that we must love Jesus above everything else and live for Him before all else.

Jesus said whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Him is not worthy of Him (Matt 10:37). Jesus also said if we wish to be His follower we must die to ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Do we have a holy discontentment to love Jesus more than anything or anyone else in this world? Are we taking up our cross daily and following Jesus in our sojourn through this life? Whatever our priorities are, if we do not have a holy discontentment then we probably do not have our priorities right.