As I spent time in Philippians 1 this morning, I was struck by the implications of verses 29 & 30.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
It appears that not only did God grant the Philippians salvation, but also suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Was this suffering something that God granted directly or did he "grant" it by allowing it to happen (for example Job or more importantly, the death of his only perfect Son).
If God is willing to allow his only Son, the only man to ever live without sinning, to suffer horribly, what does that mean for my life? Am I willing to make everything about my life (my job, my health, my marriage) forfeit for the sake of the Gospel? I'm forced to ask myself what I wouldn't give up if it meant God were glorified. Why not? How long will it take for me to understand that everything, and I mean everything, I have is a gift from God, to be used to give him glory and as He sees fit?
What are you clinging to? What's keeping you from giving it up?
jhj
I think (and what do I know, really?) that we can infer, from Paul's reference to suffering, that the Philippians who believed in Christ would also be "asked" to suffer for their beliefs because of the persecution of the Church at that time. So we, as Christians today, need to be able to stand firm in our relationships with Christ despite our circumstances. It's easy to be a Christian when everything seems to be going well, but if we suffer physically, financially, in our marriages, or jobs do we stand firm in our relationship with Jesus and let unbelievers see His light shine in us despite adversity? We must run our race and persevere! Can I have an AMEN? :)
ReplyDeletejjm