Working It Out

“As we look to Jesus, we are to emulate His humility, His obedience, and His love.”

I met my wife, Dee, while visiting a church on the southwest side of Chicago. A lovely young woman with beautiful brown eyes got up to sing. I knew I was supposed to be thinking about God, but all I could think about was her. So, after the service I introduced myself, and for the next three years we dated. I was in hot pursuit. I wrote her notes, called her, took her on dates. Eventually I proposed, we were married, and entered full-time ministry. But a few months later Dee said, “I don’t feel like you’re pursuing me anymore.”

Her comment took me by surprise. Why would I pursue her when we were already married? But an older man gave me great advice. He said it wasn’t about pursuing what I wanted, but what I already had. Working to improve my relationship with my wife should be more important now than ever.

In Philippians chapter 2, the apostle Paul is writing to the church of Philippi. In verse 12, he tells them to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Now I’ve seen a lot of people misconstrue this passage, thinking that we are being told to work toward our salvation, as if somehow, we could be good enough to earn God’s approval. But that’s not what Paul is saying.

Just before this statement, in verses 5–11, Paul encourages us “to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” This is our motivation. As we look to Jesus, we are to emulate His humility, His obedience, and His love. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling by following our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to work from our salvation, not for our salvation.

Most of the religious world is working to get something, trying to prove themselves good enough. And it can be easy for us to fall into that same trap. If you are under a mentality of striving, you will have little joy. When you do succeed, you’ll be pumped with self-righteousness and judge others. When you fail, you’ll feel condemned.

But under God’s grace, we give any glory we receive to King Jesus. Our success is only possible because His Spirit is at work inside of us. And when we miss the mark, we run to the Cross, knowing forgiveness and restoration come from Christ.