June 30, 2009

Philippians 4:7 It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (The Message Bible)

I don’t think anyone has a worry-free life. It seems to be part of human nature to care for others and ourselves in such a way that we have some level of anxiety over bad things that could happen. What Peterson is highlighting in this translation is the idea that there are things that become the center of our lives that really define us. Paul worried. He worried about how all his friends in all the churches he was connected with were doing. He felt a responsibility that weighed heavily on him at times. But that was not the core of his being. That was not where his heart lay. He had opened the deepest places of his existence to the God he believed loved him and, while that didn’t remove all his cares, it changed his basic outlook on life. As we open our lives to God in prayer we can expect this fundamental transformation, and it can indeed be something wonderful!