"Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose."
Paul is making a very strong plea for unity in the first few verses of Philippians 2. The concept of unity is tied directly to what follows in the passage so it is important to consider what this unity might look like. The phrase about having "one purpose" struck me as something unique to reflect on. While most of us can probably trace out what "same love" and "same mind" are getting at "one purpose" is probably a bit more difficult.
What does it mean to be have one purpose? How do we achieve that? What is that purpose?
To talk about our purpose is to talk about our will. It is to talk about those things which we intend to do and which we give ourselves over to in order to pursue. Having one purpose goes beyond simply engaging in the same activities as others. I think this passage pushes us beyond some simple conformity or the appearance of similar behaviors. Purpose lies deeper in our hearts and souls and touches on the very way we are wired and those things which we live for.
One difficulty in trying to think through purpose comes when we realize that even if people are engaged in the same activity they don't necessarily have the same purpose. For example, a sports team can have people filling numerous roles: coach, star player, bench warmer, manager, trainer, and so on and so on. Even though they may all say they are there for the same purpose of winning, digging a little deeper in to people's motivations often reveals a different story:
- The coach is really there for the joy of seeing players grow as people.
- The star player is vainglorious and seeks great reputation.
- The bench warmer loves camaraderie and the team environment.
You could go on through a team and reveal that purpose and motivation vary with every individual. Appearance says that they are all there for the same reason but in reality no one is perfectly aligned to that purpose of winning.
To have "one purpose" is exceptionally difficult because none of our motivations and purposes are ever as singular, pure, and focused as we make them out to be. Once we start digging into our own hearts we find that pride, sinfulness, distractions, and so many other things creep in and interfere with our purpose.
If you have walked with God for a while you have probably had those "come to Jesus" moments where you just feel laid bare before God. At those times we are often ready to do whatever God asks us to do. We imagine ourselves saying, like Isaiah, "Here am I, send me!" This is such a powerful purpose statement! We are sincere in saying it and we mean it but then we get hungry, or tired, or bills come, or marriage and family happen. All of sudden our purpose becomes a little complicated and cloudy.
Before you condemn yourself for having had those "here am I" moments and failing to live them out, take a breath. I think this is how God intends us to wrestle with our faith. Our walk with God becomes more robust and vibrant when we have to wrestle with keeping that "here am I" purpose in front of our hearts and minds. It is too easy to have mountain top moments and far more difficult to live that moment out down in the valley but I believe that God gets so much more glory when we do.
So how do we go about finding that one purpose that Paul is talking about in Philippians 2?
He is speaking of a collective purpose for a group of people. In other words, whatever purpose we come up with better fit everyone. If you were to ask people where they find purpose or what their purpose in life is, it is very likely that you would get a ton of different answers. However, if we read Paul correctly we should expect every single follower of Christ to give the same answer. For those who follow God the answer should always be the same. The fact that this is hardly the case doesn't change that it ought to be true that all believers have the same purpose.
He is speaking of a collective purpose for a group of people. In other words, whatever purpose we come up with better fit everyone. If you were to ask people where they find purpose or what their purpose in life is, it is very likely that you would get a ton of different answers. However, if we read Paul correctly we should expect every single follower of Christ to give the same answer. For those who follow God the answer should always be the same. The fact that this is hardly the case doesn't change that it ought to be true that all believers have the same purpose.
Perhaps somewhere there exists an exhaustive study of scripture and theology that asks questions about purpose. Perhaps if I had ever read " The Purpose Driven Life" I would have known how to answer questions about believers having "one purpose." But, I have seen no such study and have not read said book, so I am going to share what my head and heart lead me to.
The purpose that I imagine Paul speaking to can be found most directly in two well known passages: Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22: 37: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." This is known as the first and greatest commandment and as such it brings much clarity to the purpose that unites believers.
There is one noticeable condition to pay attention to here, namely that our love for God includes ALL of our self. Our purpose is to give our whole selves entirely over to love for God. There is no part of our lives that we can point to and say "that is mine to do with as I please." Elsewhere Paul talks about God in a way that shows that our love for God is one of sacrificial, even slavish, devotion to a benevolent Lord and Savior and not anything like more popular conceptions of love.
I believe that this complete surrender to the will and ways of our loving God is the purpose that Paul is getting at in Philippians 2:2. We are to be united in purpose in our loving pursuit of God. There is no wiggle room for followers of Christ on this one. Paul is masterful in exploring the human heart. He knows we are fickle and finite, not to mention moral failures. And still he implores us to find unity in our purpose. If you've truly tasted and seen that the Lord is good that purpose should be pretty clear and compelling.
Whatever else we may disagree on, Paul gives us this litmus test of unity of love, mind, and purpose for knowing how well our Christian communities are experiencing and living out the grace, mercy, love, and joy found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no better way that I can think of for finding unity in purpose than in loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind and helping others to do the same.
Getting ourselves to live with singular purpose, as individuals and especially in groups, is not easy. The best way that I know to keep that focus is to keep the gospel ever before our eyes. Understanding the power of the cross, the magnitude of God's mercy and forgiveness, and our desperate need for a Savior who would die in our place goes a long way in helping us love God with our whole selves.
One way that I give myself a heart check and try to take inventory of how clearly I am living out this godly purpose is to ask myself the following: when is the last time I was undone by God's mercy? Have you recently had an Isaiah 6 "here am I, send me" moment where your love for God overtakes all competitors for our attention and motives? If you can't place the last such moment for yourself on a timeline I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on the beautiful, scandalous cross.
There is one noticeable condition to pay attention to here, namely that our love for God includes ALL of our self. Our purpose is to give our whole selves entirely over to love for God. There is no part of our lives that we can point to and say "that is mine to do with as I please." Elsewhere Paul talks about God in a way that shows that our love for God is one of sacrificial, even slavish, devotion to a benevolent Lord and Savior and not anything like more popular conceptions of love.
I believe that this complete surrender to the will and ways of our loving God is the purpose that Paul is getting at in Philippians 2:2. We are to be united in purpose in our loving pursuit of God. There is no wiggle room for followers of Christ on this one. Paul is masterful in exploring the human heart. He knows we are fickle and finite, not to mention moral failures. And still he implores us to find unity in our purpose. If you've truly tasted and seen that the Lord is good that purpose should be pretty clear and compelling.
Whatever else we may disagree on, Paul gives us this litmus test of unity of love, mind, and purpose for knowing how well our Christian communities are experiencing and living out the grace, mercy, love, and joy found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no better way that I can think of for finding unity in purpose than in loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind and helping others to do the same.
Getting ourselves to live with singular purpose, as individuals and especially in groups, is not easy. The best way that I know to keep that focus is to keep the gospel ever before our eyes. Understanding the power of the cross, the magnitude of God's mercy and forgiveness, and our desperate need for a Savior who would die in our place goes a long way in helping us love God with our whole selves.
One way that I give myself a heart check and try to take inventory of how clearly I am living out this godly purpose is to ask myself the following: when is the last time I was undone by God's mercy? Have you recently had an Isaiah 6 "here am I, send me" moment where your love for God overtakes all competitors for our attention and motives? If you can't place the last such moment for yourself on a timeline I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on the beautiful, scandalous cross.
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