I had played tennis several times a week in Middle School at the asphalt courts owned by the church next to my home and loved it. I was hopeful in trying for a spot on the team at my new high school, my freshman year. I was a little intimidated because I was largely self-taught, unconventional and modestly equipped compared to the kids that I would be competing with. They were the well-coached kids. They were every-summer-all-summer tennis camp kids, with elite equipment and facilities. The tryout was a simple challenge system. You could challenge someone for the vacant spot on the team and you got to name the court. If you won you earned your spot, if you lost you were out, no challenge backs. There were 4 of us freshmen trying to make a spot on the team. I had defeated two others and thought I was assured of a spot at least playing doubles (the top 6 players play singles and 7&8 play doubles). My insecurity began displaying itself in pride about those first wins. However, there was a late challenge from classmate #4. He had done his homework and strategically selected a clay court, first, because he knew I had likely never played on clay (his country club was the only place in town that had clay courts) and, second, because he knew the moist court would slow down my serve and forehand. He also knew my feet would slide a little on clay, unlike asphalt and it would slow my quickness. We were fairly evenly matched going to deuce several times. In the end, his strategy had served him well. He had changed the whole game with his court selection and turned my strengths into weaknesses. My dreams of playing high school tennis were dashed to the clay. (I ended up on the swim team, but that’s another story for another day).
The Apostle Paul was concerned because there were Judizers who had come to the church in Philippi. These hyper-religious people were very impressive with how well they could follow the rules and they insisted that everyone else do the same. These admirable attributes of rule following, sounded like something every Jesus follower should do, but actually this self-righteousness threatened the very core of what it means to belong to Jesus. This salvation based on ascetic rigor AND following Jesus was antithetical to a simple humble relational connection with Jesus. Sure, acting rightly is what happens when we begin to mature in Christ, but the Judiazers made it sound like it was necessary for salvation. Having a place on Jesus' team has nothing to do with our own strength or rule-following ability, and everything to do with a real attachment to Jesus, who changes us and then matures us through relationships with other true believers to do the right things. God's plan, through Jesus, had turned all the strengths of Judaizers into weaknesses. Paul knew this first hand, he used to be one of the best of those super-rule followers. He tells his friends, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:8-9 (NLT2) We all have feet of clay, our greatest strengths can be considered our greatest weakness if we value them more than our relationship with Jesus. God's love for us is immeasurably greater than our ability to follow the rules.
Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!
