Holding fast

holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain. - Philippians 2.16

Today's verse picks right up where yesterday's left off, but it deserves a look of its own.

We are indeed to be lights shining in this dark old world and this verse tells us how to do it.

'Holding forth the word of life…'

The light we shine and hold forth for the entire world to see is the word of life. Of course there are two ways to look at this. The first way is that we shine our light by holding for the Light of the World, Jesus, because He is the living word of life. We can't hold forth our lives as an example, because we are going to fail. We can’t hold forth our churches as examples because they will fail. We can’t hold forth our leaders as examples because they too will fail.

But we can present of Saviour to the world as our light and our source of life.

The writer of Hebrews tells that we have a race to run in this world. We need to lay aside the weights and sins that so easily trouble us. But the key is that we look to the Jesus, the word of life, as the author and the completer of our faith.

But the word of life can also refer to the gospel as recorded in the Bible. While we hold forth the living word of God for the world to see we hold forth the written word of God as a guide and map and compass and light in this present dark world. We use it to find our way.

What are we holding out to this world? what are we holding onto in this world? Unless it is the word of life we are doomed to directionlessness and misery.