Markus Bockmuehl: I have learned the secret

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12

“The verb translated ‘learned’ originally meant to be inducted into the secret rites of a Hellenistic mystery cult; but like other mystery terminology it had come to adopt a transferred and more general meaning…Paul’s point is that Christian contentment remains unintelligible to those outside and can only be ‘learned’ from the God of peace.

Contentment is indeed a quiet secret known and cherished only by a few. Elaborating further, Paul indicates that his contentment extends to circumstances both of hunger and eating his fill; he has learned to cope with having either more than enough or too little…The power to cope with all circumstances resides in his union with Christ, rather than in Paul himself.”

Markus Bockmuehl in The Epistle to the Philippians (London: A & C Black, 1997) 261-262.

At the core of my exploration of contentment and generosity, I find a secret. It’s not ‘secret’ information that is hidden from the knowledge of others, but rather, based on the language of the biblical text, it is a ‘secret’ or unknown to others until it is experienced in Christ (hence, Paul’s use of mystical initiation language).

Paul is basically saying: “I have learned the secret that keeps both wealth and poverty from destroying me. I have experienced union with Christ, and now I realize experientially that I have everything I need in Him. Thus, circumstances don’t phase me and I have strength not just to survive but to thrive in every situation.”

What about you? Have you ‘learned’ the secret?

Union with Christ is something our driver discovered in Africa. He wanted what he saw in us. Without it, no person can find peace and contentment or ever exhibit generosity in all circumstances. To explore this seminal idea further in Paul’s thinking, meditate on Philippians 4. It is one of my favorite New Testament texts.

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.'” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord. 2 Kings 4:42-44

“The more I have studied the Scripture the more impressed I have been with the Bible’s glorious illogicality as it relates to divine mathematics…a story can be found in the Old Testament where God’s servant, Elisha, experienced a miraculous extension of 20 small loaves of bread which were able to satisfy 100 hungry men — with some left over…

It doesn’t make sense. It defies logic…when God is at work, logic and mathematics have to give way to a higher law — the law of the divine. Nothing is more exciting than to see the divine mathematics at work in the matter of giving. We give and when we think we have come to the end of our financial resources God makes it possible for us to give and give again…

I am sure that you come across opportunities to be generous almost every day and if you fail to respond to those opportunities who knows what rivers will not flow, what great ministries will never come to birth, what mighty things will not get done? God has opened the doors of generosity to you; don’t fail to open up the doors of generosity to others.”

Selwyn Hughes in Divine Mathematics: A Biblical Perspective on Investing in God’s Kingdom (Surrey, UK: CWR, 2004) 13-17. Thanks again to Cameron Doolittle of Generosity Path for recommending this wonderful little book to me.

Who are you in this biblical story? 

Are you the person bringing the gift of 20 loaves of bread along with heads of grain before 100 hungry people, all the while, perhaps wondering what difference it can make? In response to his generosity and willingness to put it to work, he witnesses a miracle. The Lord multiplies his gift.

Or are you God’s servant, Elisha, in the story? You serve in ministry. You often see people bringing gifts. Do you tell them to bring more because the needs are so great, relying on human math to solve the problem? Or do you, like Elisha, tell them to give what they have to the hungry people and watch the Lord more than meet their needs with it?

Whether you are a man or woman of God who gives to God’s work (like the man who brought the 20 loaves and grain), or whether you are among God’s servants (like Elisha who was ministering to the people), each of us must together generously and obediently do our part and watch God do miracles (in this case He fed 100 men).

But don’t miss the last words from the Lord in today’s text: “some left over.” With God, there is no end to His generosity. There’s always “some left over!” God’s generosity must not stop with each of us. As givers and as God’s servants, let us resolve to open the doors of generosity to others, over and over and over again.

If my house were not right with God, surely He would not have made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part; surely He would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire. 2 Samuel 23:5

“We can be sure of nothing here, especially in these times; we know that a man can be sure of little that he has, and who can be sure of his wealth? Perhaps some of you have here lived well and comfortably before, all was well about you, and you thought your mountain was strong, but within a day or two you see everything taken away from you—there is no certainty in the things of this world; but He says, the covenant is sure.

What I venture at sea is not sure, but here is an insurance office indeed, a great insurance office for the saints, at which they are not charged, except in the exercising of grace, for they may go to this insurance office to insure everything that they venture, either to have the thing itself, or to be paid for it. In an insurance office you cannot be sure to have the very goods that you insured, but if they are lost the insurers pledge themselves to make it good to you.

And this covenant of grace that God has made with His people is God’s insurance office, and the saints in all their fears may and ought to go to the covenant to insure all things, to insure their wealth and insure their lives. You will say, How are they sure? Their lives and wealth go as well as other people’s do. But God pledges Himself to make up all…perhaps, you will not prosper in the world as other men do, true; but I can bear that. Though God does not make my house to grow, I have all my desires. Thus you see how a godly heart finds contentment in the covenant.”

Jeremiah Burroughs (1600-1646), a Puritan preacher, in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, see page 46-47 of this PDF edition.

Let us continue to explore contentment, a trait I saw in many African brothers and sisters. Today we read this excerpt from a classic Puritan work on the topic.

Burroughs begins by stating plainly that life is uncertain: “We can be sure of nothing here.”

So what is our response to uncertainty? The world says, “Buy insurance to find security in an uncertain world.” Burroughs instead points us to “God’s insurance office” which he defines as the covenant of grace. Why turn there instead? Burroughs say to do this because God is the only One who will make everything right. Today’s Old Testament reading reveals that this was the heart of David who was secure in trouble-filled times because his house was right with God.

So how can we be content and generous conduits of God’s love? We must put our house right with God. Then, our content and generous lives may just be our greatest witness for Christ. Others will see our confidence in God and His covenant with us, and they may just take out an “eternal life insurance policy” with Him. Seriously, on the last day and a half of my trip to Africa, our hosts arranged a journey out into the Maasai Mara (pictured above) to try to see some wildlife. In hearing how we were talking about Jesus in our lives over a day and half, our driver, Kenneth Kiptoo, committed His life to Christ.

Hallelujah! His house is right with God. Is yours?

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

“We live in a world in which things are not as they ought to be. We long for more; we long for peace, serenity, health, justice, and prosperity. Like a storm on a raging sea, our souls, our communities, and the world churn with discontentment. Yet Christian contentment is a gift of God to every believer who seeks first His kingdom and his righteousness…

As we mature in faith, grow in discernment, and allow God to develop our spiritual senses to be responsive to His Spirit, we can live a life of true contentment…In uncertain times, the believer is moved to prayer, seeking God for His perspective that He may quiet our unsettled spirits with His love and restore hope in Him (Zephaniah 3:17).

God’s economy is generous to all and provides all we need. We can trust Him in all circumstances and delight even in difficult conditions, knowing that He is faithful. In turn, trusting God stirs us to action as he calls us to participate in his mission to change our hearts, revitalize our communities, and bring peace to the world.”

Angela Wisdom in Silencio, a resource of Leadership Transformations, Inc., 45th edition, September 2016.

Angela keenly connects Christian contentment with generous engagement in mission. When our trust is in God’s faithfulness, our security is in His love, and our hope is in His righteousness, we can serve as agents of His kindness despite difficult circumstances, which in turn, shapes our homes, our communities, and our world for Jesus Christ.

At the core of Christian contentment is an unswerving confidence in our Mighty Warrior God. When I was in Africa, I met some Maasai warriors who were confident even to face lions because of the training they had received from their elders. They were fearless! Their stories inspired me and gave me courage.

Lord, cause our living, giving, serving, and loving to inspire others to fearlessly to place their confidence in You!

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

“A contented spirit is like a watch; though you carry it up and down with you, yet the spring of it is not shaken, nor the wheels out of order, but the watch keeps its perfect motion.

So it was with St. Paul, though God had carried him into various conditions, yet he was not lifted up with the one, nor cast down with the other. The spring of his heart was not broken, the wheels of his affection were not disordered, but kept their constant motion toward heaven, still content.

The ship that lies anchor may sometimes be a little shaken, but never sinks; flesh and blood may have its fears and disquiets, but grace doth check them. A Christian having cast anchor in heaven, his heart never sinks.”

Thomas Watson in The Art of Divine Contentment (London: L.B. Seeley and Sons, and Hamilton, Adams, and Company, 1829) 25.

Watson’s use of the the word picture of the watch seems fitting. Through the ups and downs of wear, it still keeps time. He also notes (rightly!) that our affections must remain ordered. When they are disordered, then we are drawn to find security and contentment in something other than God.

The order (or lack thereof) of our affections will shape our generosity. When they are ordered, that is when we trust in Christ, we will live open-handed lives. We know where everything came from and what to do with it. When, alternatively, our affections are disordered, we will follow the worldly pattern in handling God’s money.

The secret (according to both St. Paul and Watson) is to anchor our lives in Jesus and nothing else. When we do, we realize (by experience) that we need nothing but Christ to make it through the ups and downs of life. No wonder Jesus exhorts us to let go of all else! Reset your watch to Jesus today and put your anchor in Him alone!

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21

“The real antidote is an attitude that can be summed up in two words: generosity and detachment. We don’t overcome consumerism by plunging ourselves into poverty, but by learning how to detach from possessions. As we learn how to hold on to them more loosely, we will share them more freely and generously. In the Gospels, Jesus does not tell rich people that they need to become poor; rather, that they need to be generous in giving of their riches to others.”

Joe Paprocki in 7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness: Enriching Your Faith by Strengthening the Health of Your Soul (Chicago: Loyola, 2012) 51.

I have safely returned from Africa. The header photo above serves as a reminder to me that the light of Christ is shining in the Dark Continent.

Those who follow the teachings of Jesus, do not end up destitute, but rather distributors of His material blessings. Obedience also frees us from the clutches of consumerism.

Many Africans that I met this past week inspired me. Their resolve to obey God through the enjoyment and sharing of His blessings moved me to a deeper level of trust in my generosity.

What about you? Is your life characterized by consumerism? Do you amass money and material possessions for yourself or do you richly share trusting God to provide for your needs?

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40

Rather than give you one more quote from a missionary to Africa, enjoy these quotes from a young lady what has not given her life in Uganda, but rather found life there.

“Jesus wrecked my life, shattered it to pieces, and put it back together more beautifully.”

“Thankfully, God’s plans do not seem to be affected much by my own.”

“I put value in things. These children, having no things, put value in God. I put my trust in relationships; these children, having already seen relationships fail, put their trust in the Lord.”

“I hadn’t realized what a transformation had taken place while I had been in Uganda, the spiritual richness I had experienced in material poverty and the spiritual poverty I felt now in a land of material wealth.”

“People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people.”

Katie J. Davis with Beth Clark in Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011).

Learn more about Katie’s story on the Amazima Ministries website. She has taken hold of life and true riches by putting value in that which God values. Have you?

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7

“Lord, enable us to search our hearts and humble ourselves before Thee. Oh, for a closer walk with God, more faith, more sincerity, more earnestness, and more love. I must study more the Word of God. ‘If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ The Master said so, and His words are true.”

Alexander Murdoch Mackay (1849-1890) Presbyterian missionary to Uganda as recounted by his sister in A.M. Mackay: Pioneer Missionary of the Church Missionary Society Uganda by J.W.H. Mackay (London: Frank Cass and Company, 1970) 118-119.

One of the founding volunteer servants with AfCAA is from Uganda and will spread the impact of this organization to that country.

How inspiring is the faith of Missionary Mackay. It reminds me of the faith of the fellow servants with whom I have spent the past week.

Like Mackay, they have taken hold of God’s generosity in His faithful Word. Have you?

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23

Only One Life by C.T. Studd

“Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

C.T. Studd (1860-1931) as recounted by Knowing Who You Are: Eight Surprising Images of Christian Identity by Malcolm Gill (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2015) 21-22.

Studd was a missionary who served and died in Belgian Congo. I am moved anew and afresh by this poem. While I have shared the last two lines before as a meditation, I had never read the entire poem until now.

God help me leave my selfish aims and cleave only to Thy will. Thanks that You are faithful and true what e’er the strife. Help me please Thee in my daily life, until I hear You call me home. Amen.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22

“God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours.”

David Livingstone (1813-1873) as recounted in Introduction to Evangelism, ed. Alvin L. Reid (Nashville: B & H Publishing, 1998) 103. He was a famous medical missionary and explorer in Africa.

Since our training and events in Nairobi have gone well, now it’s time to spend quality time deepening my relationships with African brothers and sisters. Their faith inspires me.

I am thrilled they join me in sharing David Livingstone’s view on sustainability. Our trust is completely in God, and there’s no other way to live an unshaken life.