The Main Thing

The Gospel, the basic message of Christianity, tells us that because God gave HIS heart IN Jesus Christ – out of that ultimate cost and vulnerability came LIFE and forgiveness and friendship. And when we receive that (by faith) it instills the security we need to be able to RISK and become
vulnerable with others. God’s sacrifice enables ours!

Today we see how that played out for the writer of this amazing letter. He was writing from a jail cell …and yet he was astoundingly free. The apostle Paul was free to be honest with people, to risk, to endure heart ache and betrayal and to SOMEHOW maintain this amazingly resilient and even joyous outlook. His approach is somehow utterly realistic (no denial or fakeness) and yet real security and peace and JOY (which is a huge theme to look for in this letter).

Paul’s able to “keep the main thing the main thing” (as we say) and that’s the secret (later he uses that word, Ch. 4) it’s the secret that sustains him.Let’s look at how he does it:

1. Two Things Which Cannot Be the Main Thing
   2)The One Thing That MUST Be and
2. Some of the Results When This IS the FOCUS