February 7                                                                            Philippians 3:  12-21

 

 

Barry’s dad, Lloyd MacLachlan, worked all day at Hamilton Standard, watched the boys’ athletic events, and then worked a second job as a “handyman” around town in Marlborough.  He would fix plumbing leaks, install faucets, and service furnaces.  Each of his five sons would get a rotating turn accompanying their dad on these calls.  Their job as apprentice was “go-getter.”  During those times, all the boys would agree they wished they could be doing anything else.  However, some valuable lessons were learned in those dusty basements that have lived long past Dad (not the least of which is that “the boys” are still called upon for their handyman knowledge).  Barry recalls observing his dad approach a task on a nightly basis and thinking “I would never do it like this. There is a much easier way.”  When he got brave enough to say it out loud, his father would explain that there were two ways to go about almost anything in life: one was the easy way (and being his helper and anxious to get home, it seemed the only option Barry would consider); the second, Dad went on, was often much more difficult and required more time and effort, but was usually the right way.  It always seemed he would choose the latter.

 

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, speaks of Christianity in a similar way. Growing spiritually is a difficult journey.  You have to be active, to try harder than you did the day before, and to persist with the goal of being closer to God in mind.  Paul knows he has not reached spiritual perfection; he himself is not satisfied.  But he speaks to the importance of the process.  He tells us it is important to press on, to persevere.  Being a Christian, like being a plumber,  is about choosing the difficult path, but knowing that it is the right way; not about taking the easy way out.  We know we won’t reach spiritual perfection, but we strive for the goal: the “upward call of God in Jesus Christ.”  And, each day, we try to do it by being fully engaged, doing the right thing; not by sitting on the sidelines looking for the easy way out. As Barry’s brother Blair said in his Dad’s eulogy, “Most importantly, he knew what was most important in his life and how to live.  Pop was a good teacher, through his actions, we learned.” May we know God’s patience with us as we choose the oftentimes difficult, but ultimately right way.

 

 

~ Barry & Jill MacLachlan