Somehow, I’m reluctant to leave Paul’s letter to the Philippians without drawing some life lessons from this great old saint’s story… whose personal life shines through all of its pages. 

Against the backdrop of a servant of Jesus…old and worn out from years of travel, hardship, and sacrifice…we see a spirit honed and shaped by fellowship with the Master. We read the life story of a man whose passion for the gospel…the message of life, salvation, and a glorious future…and his obedience to his calling…beckoned him past and through every hardship towards a goal and a prize greater that anything he ever imagined or anticipated in this life. 

i think that the first great lesson we can learn from Paul is that he learned! He was not stubborn or resistant. His heart was never closed to the meaning and purpose of the trials he endured. He yielded to the lessons God intended for him to learn…like pliable clay in the Potter’s hands. 

Paul’s whole letter was full of the lessons he learned…like a student sitting at the feet of the great Teacher…both absorbing and  passing on to his fellow students the deep truths that would prepare him for the final exam. The day would come when he would be called on willingly to lay down his life on the altar of sacrifice for the sake of the One who had saved him and called him to a life of suffering. 

“But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul made clear his reason for endurance…

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The second lesson I glean from Paul’s letter is his perspective of life. Like a golden thread running through this tapestry of truth and experience, Paul viewed all of life from its destiny. This present life, for him, was going somewhere. There was a goal and a reward so compelling that anything he was called to endure was trivial and transient compared with what was to come, though he could not see clearly what it was. 

With his eyes on the reward, Paul was willing to trust God, to anchor his soul to His promises, and to keep going through the darkest of days because of his hope. One of his many favourite expressions was “we know”. 

Let’s look, for example, at…

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How did Paul know that God was painting every circumstance in his life into a picture that would be beautiful, perfect, and of infinite benefit to him? Imprisonment? Want? Persecution? Shipwreck? Beatings? Conflict? All of this and much more…

Yes! Paul walked through every detail of his suffering, reliving it from God’s perspective, and came out convinced that every bit was beneficial for him. Why? His heavenly perspective focused on the goal…to be recreated into the image of Jesus. If Jesus learned obedience through suffering, so should he. 

“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The third great lesson I learn from Paul is that Paul was not a “Lone Ranger”. He conducted his ministry in partnership with many others. He commended and honoured those who worked with him. He relied on others to help him, to go where and when he could not go. He journeyed with a partner or a team across the Roman Empire, preaching the gospel, establishing churches, and training and leaving spiritual leaders who would nurture the infant believers towards maturity. 

When Paul finally departed, lifeless at the hands of Roman executioners…he left behind a network of churches, connected through his tireless efforts to keep them in touch.  They, God’s people, in turn, travelled and visited…knew each other by name…recognised and acknowledged their leaders…and exchanged letters full of teaching and exhortation…a vast family of people who needed each other against a backdrop of hostility and persecution. 

There is much more we could glean from this one letter from the greatest of the apostles but…let’s take to heart these three observations as of infinite value in our walk with Jesus. These lessons alone can transform our lives from mundane to sharp and useful in the Master’s hands.