We were about to step off the boat, after an hour and a half of watching, and listening, to some of the most incredible animals God placed on this earth. The skipper thanked us for using their whale watch service and then said, “Go home, and make wherever you live a paradise.”
We don’t often think of it like that. More likely we fall prey to what some have called, “The Vacation Effect”; that because we enjoy a place while we are on vacation, therefore, it would be a great place to live. And why not. For a short time we have new and exciting vistas; the folks all seem so polite; and the mundane frustrations are handled by someone else. As responsibilities evaporate away, we give little thought that after our encounter with them is over, those people go home to the same type of responsibilities we temporarily left behind. Paradise, it seems, is not defined by geography.
But it might be defined by contentment. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I have learned , in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. A statement that is made even more profound when we remember that at the time he wrote it, he was incarcerated for his faith. While Paul identifies the source of this contentment in his conclusion of the matter, in the verse, “I can do all things through Christ which strentheneth me“, he nevertheless shows a volitional aspect to contentment with the phrase, “I have learned“.
Furthermore, he specifically commands that his readers should, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” This rejoicing is also to be accompanied by focusing our thoughts on six of the grandest of ideals. Our thoughts are to be governed by anything and everything that is; true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of a good report. These efforts will yield, “the peace of God, which passes all understanding”.
Christ-given strength that results in rejoicing; a mind governed by virtuous thought; a resultant peace that comes from God himself? Sounds like paradise.
