Reason to Glory


2:16b  so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.


Do we think about the day of Christ? And if we do, what do we think of glorying in on that day? What is it that we want to find there? Do we want to find out that our lives made a difference for Christ? Do we hope to discover many who were touched by our love and inspired by our faith? If this isn’t a part of our thinking, then probably we are either not giving ourselves to the Lord’s work or we are doing so with an eye to earthly gain.


Is our effort and our energy being given over to the preparation of souls for eternity? There are many things we are called to do in this life, but this is the most important thing. Even if we do a lot for others, we are not being faithful to the Lord if we are only concerned about earthly welfare. "What is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own soul?" (Luke 9:25)


Like Jesus, Paul poured out his life for the salvation of others. But his faithfulness to Christ went beyond his actual labors. He also truly cared about the welfare of the souls of others. After a long description of numerous trials he had encountered he said, "Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?"


Paul was not concerned only about doing a good job. He was concerned about the results of his ministry. He was zealous for men’s souls. He longed that on the day of Christ he would see that his efforts had proven fruitful in the lives of his hearers. Paul is anxious for the Philippians to live out their salvation "so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain."


Part of being a faithful worker of Christ is longing that our efforts might prove fruitful in the lives of others. "He that longeth not for the success of his labours...was not a faithful labourer." (Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor )


Heavenly Father, You want me to be concerned about the eternal welfare of others, and instead my impulse is to be concerned about the earthly welfare of myself. Forgive me, Lord. And thank You, Jesus, that You are not like me. Thank You that You gave up Your heavenly position and Your earthly welfare for the sake of my eternal destiny. Help me to really care about people like You did. Help me to have a burden for the souls around me and to work tirelessly in the sincere hope of saving them. Help me be willing to compromise my earthly status in order to fight for the salvation of souls.