Episode 195: August 25, 2024 - Humility In Christ, Part 4 - Life In Christ

Eternity Church PodCast

A Sunday sermon by Pastor Brett Deal. The other day I was listening to a favorite song by Colin Hay, and it transported me back in time. In his song, he breathes out his aspirations during a nebulous season. Written at a time when, after several years on the international stage with Men at Work, he was himself dropped from his record label. Confused about what to do with the rest of his life, he poured his emotions into a song, singing “I’m ready for my real life to begin.” That song captures how I felt in the summer of 2003. I’d found the perfect ring for the perfect girl. All that separated us was a thousand miles. I spent the summer counting down the days until I would see her again. I was ready for my real life to begin. Literally minutes after my summer job ended, I was tearing down the highway headed East. I’d packed the night before to make quick work of the distance. There would be nothing stopping me. Not torrential rain in St. Louis or a blown tire in Illinois (more about this Sunday). The future was on the horizon, and I was ready for my real life to begin. This is very much how Epaphroditus felt. He’d been sent to care for Paul, imprisoned in Rome. Far from home, he became so sick they all thought he was going to die! God’s mercy saved them from that tragedy, but as he came back to physical health, his heart remained sick. He longed for home, to be with the men, women, and children he knew by name, to be with the people God placed dearly in his heart. Serving Paul was a great gift, but he was ready for his real life to begin, back home in Philippi. But isn’t it interesting, while we’re waiting for our lives to begin, how much real life we find ourselves living? This is true for Epaphroditus, Timothy, and Paul (Philippians 2.19-30). It’s true for us too. Taking this to heart, let’s not be in such a rush we miss the names and faces of those Jesus has placed around us. Tomorrow will come, and it will be glorious, but today is before us. Real life has already begun.