I have been working SUPER slowly through a Bible Study on Philippians by Karen Ehman. It’s called “What Matters Most” and our Bible Study group chose it because we all have various trials or struggles that we face and felt we could all use a little more joy. And joy is supposed to differ from happiness in that it is separate from your circumstances. Happiness comes and goes depending on what you’re dealing with, but joy is supposed to be permanent and “no matter whatish”.

The verse that we are supposed to memorize for Week Two is Philippians 1:27a which says: “Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ”. This has been rolling around in my brain ever since I read it. This idea that my citizen is settled, I belong in heaven because of Jesus’ sacrifice and my belief in it. BUT, there’s still the ONE THING! I’m supposed to ACT like I belong in heaven from now until I get there. Not to guarantee or earn my place there, but to honor Jesus’ sacrifices and be worthy of the title Christian.

This idea just kind of stopped me in my tracks for two main reasons. One was that it is so easy to see this world as our reality and heaven as this supernatural, other worldly, idea that some day will become real when we get there, BUT that’s not true. This world is the vapor, the flash, the mirage that we walk through to get to reality/Heaven. The supernatural is our true reality, the spiritual is the actual. As a citizen of heaven, my future is decided, the “victory is won”, my case and debt have been settled and all of that is current and past. Done, decided and completed. I just have to realize, recognize and live in that.

The second reason this verse stopped me and has stayed in my mind off and on for the last week is that “Just one thing” is to live like a citizen of heaven so that my “life is worthy of the gospel of Christ.” And the gospel of Christ is that the most powerful being in the ANYWHERE suffered and died in my and your place, AND THEN used His own power to rise again to conquer death and let me and you be a citizen of His heaven IF we want to. So this verse, this “One more thing” is a call to live a life worthy of that story. So, even though I get tired and I feel like everyone wants something from me even when I have nothing left to give, how can I not turn to Jesus and ask for His strength, patience and love to give one more thing in order to honor ALL that he’s done for me!

And what that “one more thing” is changes by the moment, I think. Even now as I write this and one of those rambunctious princesses keeps crawling up next to me and wanting to color or read or anything, but let me finish typing this, my “one more thing” changes from sharing the thoughts on my heart from God’s word with anyone reading this to spending some time building that princess into whatever Her Jesus wants her to become! So, here we go, “just one more thing……