Philippians take 2

Yeah I was definitely one of those people who did not see all the metaphors. I think the bible is so full of metaphors and Christians speak metaphorically all the time, that if we were to try and look for metaphors in the bible it would be difficult for us to find them. I have read the book of Philippians a good number of times and always overlooked the metaphors. When we had to read it class and find all the metaphorical interpretations I was stumped. But after going over it in class, I was surprised that I didn’t see it before. One of my favorite quotes is “for to me, to live as Christ and to die is gain.” I believe that that is a literal statement. If we live on earth in the image of Christ, we gain much more when we die because we will be with God for eternity. I think that the Christian culture has turned scriptures like these into metaphors. So it’s almost like a reversed metaphor. A lot people interpret statements like that into “dyeing to self.” We have all heard that phrase before. But in that time when Jesus talked about losing a life, you will save it and when Paul talks about dying is gain, it was definitely literal. I just think it’s interesting at how we have interpreted it to be a metaphor. Another phrase that can be easy to miss is “God in you” or “God in your heart.” Again, we hear it so often that we forget that its not talking about our physical heart but our soul or inner being or the core of our emotions. The fact that Paul is in jail writing this letter is amazing to me. He is telling us not to worry and be content all while he awaits his fate.