Thoughts on Philippians...

(9) And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, (10) so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (11) filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11 ESV

So, "more consistent" does not equate consistent, but it is at least a move in the right direction.

Well, I am going through Philippians with my Sunday School class of high school Juniors and Seniors. We are trying to discover this whole concept of "studying" a book of the Bible. My desire is that we would be growing in our ability to process what is being said in God's word and then make coherent arguments about the implications therein. So far we have struggled, but I think I may have lost them a couple of times with historical context.

I find that what Paul is saying in Philippians hits home more to me when I understand that the people that he is writing to are living in a colony of retired soldiers - Philippi. (Thus the abundance of military imagery) I am growing more and more in my respect for Paul and his ability to know his audience and then present the Gospel to them in light of who they are.

This is a massive concept to truly wrap our mind around. For instance, these soldiers at Philippi... fought against each other in the Battle of Philippi in 42BC. (I recommend Appian of Alexandria's history of this battle - lengthy, but a very helpful primary source) What you then find in Philippians many times is a call to unity in the body of Christ... oneness between men who fought bitterly against one another.

We too, if we care for those that we invest in will speak into their wounds, their victories and defeats, their lives in such a way that they will know that we love them. In this way we will encourage the hearts of those who are fighting through battles that we would not know of if we did not remove our blinders. Let us have a heart to know people, to love them , to invest in them so that they may grow in their knowledge and obedience to God.